


Inter Alia

by backinthebox



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Originally Posted on Tumblr
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-22
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-06-03 18:06:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 37,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6620866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/backinthebox/pseuds/backinthebox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of one-shot vignettes and short fiction, mostly from prompts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. "I swear it was an accident"

**Author's Note:**

> First: these are short stories that may or may not really have a narrative arc, but were written mostly as a means of jumpstarting what little creativity I have. Most of these came from one-word/phrase/line prompts.
> 
> Second: if a line sounds familiar, it probably is borrowed from somewhere, but since my mind is a collection of knowledge gained from multimedia, please don't make me pinpoint each and every one of them.
> 
> Thank you for reading.

She’s not exactly sure how it happened, all she knows is that one moment she was talking to Cynthia Rose and Ashley, and then the next there was a loud, audible gasp and the beer that was supposed to be in her cup was on Aubrey.

Okay, she knows her first instinct should be spouting a profound apology, but sue her if her mind went straight to the gutter because when soaked through, Aubrey’s blue shirt clung deliciously well on the blonde’s body. 

She was raised right. She knew she should be apologizing. 

So _why_ were the first words out of her mouth, “I swear it was an accident.”

Aubrey, Ashley, and Chloe all stared at her in disbelief, while Cynthia Rose looked on like it was the best damn show she’d ever come across. 

Aubrey merely grunted in response, and in a way that Stacie had only ever imagined in slow motion, started to unbutton her soaked shirt, and if Aubrey sporting a tight, wet button-down shirt had stirred Stacie’s want, watching her peel said shirt off was a whole other level of hot. 

She’s sure she could stop staring at one point.

“Stop staring.” Ashley hissed.

Stacie would’ve answered falsely, but then Aubrey revealed herself to be wearing a tight black tank top, and there was no point lying. She took the cup from Aubrey’s hand and drank it down to keep from implicating herself. 

Aubrey turned to Chloe, and lifted her shirt. “This needs to soak. And I’m all wet.”

Okay, that wasn’t fair. Stacie bit her lower lip, because _oh so many_ things she could say to that.

Chloe smiled in sympathy at Aubrey, and nodded. “Want me to go with you?”

“I’ll be fine.” Aubrey shook her head, and turning to the rest of the Barden Bellas, gave them a faint smile, her gaze lingering on Stacie a beat longer than with anyone else. “Enjoy your night.”

Stacie watched her go, until she realized her friends were all looking at her. “What?’

“Honestly, I expected you to be smoother.” Ashley admitted. 

Stacie frowned. “What?”

“Throwing your beer at her?” Chloe reminded. “That wasn’t nice.”

“I didn't…” Stacie turned to Cynthia Rose, who only nodded. Her expression went from confused to horrified. “ _No_.”

“And you just kept staring,” Cynthia Rose added. “Girl probably thinks you threw that cup on purpose.”

Stacie couldn’t scramble out of her chair and out of the room fast enough, catching up with Aubrey just outside the building. She grabbed the girl’s arm, forcing her to turn, and Stacie would have killed whoever put such a sad face on Aubrey’s expression except she knew it was her fault. “I’m sorry. That wasn't… I didn't… It was an accident.”

“You’ve said.”

“No, I mean,” Stacie shook her head. “Synaptic misfire. I wanted you out of that shirt and I guess my hand…” Stacie frowned as she finished her sentence feebly, “took matters in its own hands… I swear I make more sense than this usually.”

Aubrey blinked, her expression now a lot less sad and more confused. “You wanted me out my shirt?”

Stacie’s eyes widened in mortification. “I swear I’m not a perv.”

“And then what?”

Say what now? Stacie blinked. “Huh?”

“Mission accomplished.” Aubrey lifted her damp shirt. “Now what?”

Stacie gaped at her, because _what_? 

Aubrey smiled faintly, and nodded. “You think about that, because beer smells foul when left out, and I wouldn’t mind smelling like a brewery but we’re clearly going to have to go out so I can teach you how to choose your beer, because this cheap stuff is disgusting and I’m just soaked in it.”

Stacie had to smile. “Are you asking me out on a date?”

“Well, you’ve already tried and succeeded to get me to take off my clothes, so…” 

She’s pretty sure she’s skipping ahead so many steps, but for all her daydreaming she’d never imagined Flirty Aubrey, and her mouth tastes of the caramel-tinged beer she’d been drinking and Stacie can’t help but wonder what Aubrey tastes like without the beer. And by the way Aubrey’s kissing her back, she clearly doesn’t mind the way Stacie had stolen her drink earlier. 

When they break the kiss, panting softly, Aubrey can’t help but ask, “synaptic misfire?”

Stacie grinned. “Wish fulfillment.”


	2. Candles

“So,” Stacie began hesitantly, because it’s not every day you run into your sort-of ex in some random town and end up having coffee with her, and there were some pressing questions that she can’t help but ask, “Chloe said you were engaged to some guy.”

Aubrey rolled her eyes. “Fucking… _Chloe_.”

Stacie raised an eyebrow, because Aubrey rarely cursed in expletives, and never about Chloe. 

“No, I’m not engaged,” Aubrey informed her, spitting out the word as if the idea was vile. “I was dating this guy, but…”

Stacie waited. 

Aubrey took a moment, trying to come up with an accurate summation of her ex-boyfriend, maybe one without having to revert to cursing and expletives, but failed to find the words. So instead she shook her head, and let the topic die there. She looked up at Stacie. “I’d ask about you, but considering you’re, well, _you_ , and—”

“What do you mean?” Stacie interrupted, frowning. “What, because I used to like to sleep around, that automatically means I still just hook up with the next hot guy or girl that crosses my path, is that it?”

Aubrey, obviously taken aback by the vehemence in Stacie’s tone, blinked blankly at her, before slowly elaborating. “Because you’re smart and nice and really pretty, and anyone would be lucky to have you.”

Which, okay, she knew those weren’t a declaration of love, or anything, but Stacie can admit that knowing Aubrey still thought those things about her kind of made her heart flutter a little. She sighed. “I don’t know. Dating’s not as fun as it used to be, and work keeps me swamped almost all the time, with this patent and another one pending.”

“I know,” Aubrey agreed. “At one point you just kind of take what comes along, and stop holding out for true love, or whatever.”

“ _Right_?” Stacie nodded. She paused, and then chuckled softly, shaking her head. “God, I wish college freshman me knew she’d end up kind of dating you for a while. It would’ve blown her mind.”

“Why?” Aubrey asked, taking a sip from her cup of coffee, deciding not to pick up on the fact that Stacie had used the term ‘dating’ for whatever had gone on between them during her senior year in college.

“Well, you already know I had the biggest crush on you.” Stacie pointed out. “But freshman me had no idea the sex would’ve been off the charts.”

“Because I was uptight and a pain in the ass?” Aubrey guessed.

“More along the lines that I thought you were _way_ out of my league.”

“ _I_ was out of _your_ league?” Aubrey repeated incredulously. “You had everyone lining up just for a chance for you to _look_ at them. And I know what you girls thought about my love life, by the way, and I’m pretty sure you all thought I was holding out for magical true love sex.”

Stacie snorted indelicately. “Magical true love sex? What is that, you and me having soft-focus lovemaking on silk sheets and crushed velvet pillows, in a room full of lit candles, with violins or Barry White playing in the background?”

Aubrey paused, and gave her a curious look. “That’s… an _elaborate_ scenario.”

Stacie nudged her with her foot, embarrassed. “Shut up.”

“No, that came really quickly to you.” Aubrey teased. 

Stacie looked down at her cup, unwilling to look Aubrey in the eye.

“…And sounds a lot like soft-core porn.” Aubrey mused, making Stacie snap her head back up, because _what_? Aubrey grinned. “Why does ‘magical true love sex’ bear a resemblance to soft-core porn to you?”

“Oh my God, _shut up_.” Stacie groaned, before she paused and looked at Aubrey. “Why do you know what soft-core porn looks like?”

“I have needs.” Aubrey shrugged. 

Stacie arched an eyebrow in intrigue, and leaned forward, teasing, “Tell me more.”

Aubrey laughed, because _now_ they were playing. “So does this mean I should be investing in crushed velvet pillows?”

Stacie tilted her head to the side, and while she knew she’d been the one to open this can of worms, had to ask, “Are you saying you want us to have magical true love sex?”


	3. Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You're already Maid of Honor, Stacie. I'm pretty sure you get dibs on Best Man."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pop culture references (and borrowed lines) abound.

Maybe she should have asked if she could have veto power on her dress.

Or asked if all the bridesmaids were wearing the same dress.

Because Aubrey had thought she'd looked _okay_ , in the teal dress that was to be the color of the wedding party. It wasn't the most flattering of dresses, and there were sleeves, and ruffles, and weird Celtic embroidery she couldn't help but wonder about, but she'd looked _okay_. But now, as she sighted the Maid of Honor, she had to stop and reconsider, and, _maybe_ the green dress just looked that much better on some other people.

She wanted to hate the girl, really, and she could admit that she did, those first ten seconds upon meeting her contemporary, but she'd been so nice and had been her only accomplice so far this weekend, wrangling the bride- and groom-to-be to their respective duties, and even Aubrey had ended up handing the other girl a sandwich and drink on Friday night after the rehearsal dinner, because as Maid of Honor, and the liaison between the bridal party and the wedding planner, she'd barely gotten to eat. They were a _team_ , now.

Stacie smiled at her as Aubrey joined her at the front of the room, and gave her an appreciative once-over. "Nice dress."

Aubrey rolled her eyes at the obvious lie.

Stacie laughed. "That's what you get for trusting a bride and her mother with the dresses."

"Sure, laugh. I can't believe anyone paid for this dress."

Stacie shrugged. "You're Best Man. Shouldn't you be all Marlene Dietrich-y in a dashing tuxedo number?"

"Yeah, let's go ask the mother of the bride." Aubrey retorted.

"Right." Stacie immediately backed down, because as Maid of Honor, she had witnessed firsthand just how much of the details had been controlled by her best friend's mother. She paused, and then turned back to Aubrey. "I'd still do you."

Aubrey raised an eyebrow at her. "You're already Maid of Honor, Stacie. I'm pretty sure you get dibs on Best Man." She smiled. "Well, _woman_."

Stacie made a face at her. "Maybe now I _don't_ want to sleep with the Best Man."

"Suit yourself." Aubrey shrugged, and glanced around, searching for a clock. "That minister's taking his damn sweet time."

"Did you just swear in a church?"

"I'm a lapsed Christian _and_ gay, I'm already on God's hit list." Aubrey replied. She glanced behind her, at the back of the altar, just to check, before turning back to face the doors. "Nondenominational. I might not go to hell, after all."

Stacie grinned. "Why are they even getting married so soon, anyway? It's not like either of them are waiting for marriage for sex."

Aubrey glanced questioningly at her.

"I live with Jenny, okay, and your best friend makes a lot of noise when he has sex."

Aubrey grimaced. "I could have lived forever not knowing that about Brody."

"You're welcome." Stacie replied easily. She nudged Aubrey. "So? Any insider information on the whirlwind wedding?"

"Maybe they're just that crazy about each other?"

"Crazy is right." Stacie shook her head. She frowned at the sight of the crowd, and picked up on the earlier thread of conversation by making an idle observation. "Who the hell picks green as a wedding motif?"

"Something about spring and growth and fertility, I don't know." Aubrey shook her head. "I spaced out when Brody explained it to me."

"Why would anyone want to get married surrounded by green?"

"Why do people get married, _at all_?" Asked the girl whose parents' divorce would be understated if called acrimonious.

"I don't know." Stacie shrugged, since her own parents had divorced pretty amicably, but still put her off the whole concept of marriage. "Sex?"

"Money, and an alliance between kingdoms." Aubrey agreed.

"If that were still true, we could end up getting married today." Stacie noted.

Aubrey paused, and turned to look questioningly at the taller girl.

Stacie faltered, and explained slowly, "because of the medieval history of the wedding party…?"

Aubrey raised an eyebrow.

"Because the Maid of Honor and the Best Man are supposed to stand in for either member of the people supposed to get married, if they can't for some reason?" Stacie hastened to explain further, because _no way_ did she just imply she would marry Aubrey. Who she just met. And hasn't gone out on a date with. Or slept with. Or even _kissed_. "That's why there's a whole party of groomsmen and bridesmaids, so they can work down the line until the kings and queens can agree on a pair and—" She stopped when she saw Aubrey biting on her lip, obviously fighting to keep from smiling. She scowled at the other woman, realizing what had just happened. "That was mean."

"I'm sorry!" Aubrey burst out laughing. "But I wanted to see how you were going to work your way out of that hole."

Stacie pouted, and crossed her arms petulantly. "Now I _really_ don't want to sleep with you."

"After saying we could get married?" Aubrey teased.

"It's not nice to make fun of your possible bride, you know."

"But you were adorable!" Aubrey protested. "Who knew the bride's hot best friend was a history geek?"

"I hate you so much right now."

"Good thing the alliance between our kingdoms isn't reliant on us liking each other." Aubrey shrugged. "Not that it mattered in medieval times."

"I would _so_ send you off to war." Stacie muttered.

"Not before I took you behind the castle and got you pregnant." Aubrey noted offhandedly. "Have to preserve the family line, you know."

Stacie couldn't help but smile, because _this_ was the witty banter that had kept her sane throughout the wedding weekend. Before she could say anything, however, there was some activity near the side doors, and one of the church people gave them a thumbs-up, indicating the minister was in the building. She exchanged a look with Aubrey, and they both set off to fetch their respective halves of the wedding party.

It wouldn't be until much later, after the speeches and the dances and the bride and groom were whisked off to the airport to head to their honeymoon, that the Best Man and Maid Of Honor picked up where they had left off on their conversation; Stacie sidling up to where Aubrey stood talking to some of Brody's friends, and wordlessly took the blonde's hand and led her to the still-crowded dance floor, Jenny and Brody's friends all willing to continue the party even if the bride and groom were no longer present.

Stacie smiled, noticing Aubrey had changed out of her bridesmaid dress at one point and into a fairly-conservative little black dress. "Couldn't stand it anymore?"

"The thing itches." Aubrey reasoned.

"Maybe I should have changed, too." Stacie mused.

"No," Aubrey shook her head. "Green looks good on you."

Stacie arched an eyebrow.

"Brings out the color of your eyes."

"You've noticed the color of my eyes?" Stacie asked, surprised.

Aubrey shrugged, like that wasn't a big deal. She smiled at Stacie. "I asked Brody. He says the green's about renewal and the balance between head and heart – or, in their case, the investment banker and social worker."

Stacie scrunched up her face. "That's…"

"And healthy relationships." Aubrey added.

"This eyesore of a dress is supposed to represent all that?"

"Jenny also said it's about pursuing new ideas."

Stacie smiled softly, and mused, "This dress represents pursuing new ideas?"

Green also meant change and a new state of balance, but they didn't have to know that.

"Well, to be fair, I think you look pretty good. Or you just look good in anything, I don't know." Aubrey let her voice trail off as she started to look away, before Stacie gently reached up and tilted her chin up to meet her gaze.

Once she was sure she held Aubrey's gaze, she drifted her hand to cup Aubrey's jaw, her thumb brushing against her cheek, and Stacie wondered if she'd ever seen eyes as riveting as Aubrey's. "This dress is still hideous though."

Aubrey had to smile. "I bet it'll look better on the hotel room floor."

Stacie laughed, and gave her a quick kiss. "We should try that."

Aubrey grinned. "Are you calling dibs?"

"I guess I have to, 'cause we didn't get married today."

"No, we didn't." Aubrey agreed, before leaning in close for another kiss. "I should buy you dinner first."

"The sandwich you bought on Friday night counts." Stacie replied, briefly licking her lips, before moving in to kiss Aubrey some more, their kisses occasionally interrupted by sound sentiments.

"At least one date."

"I have your number from the planning checklist, I'll call you." After a series of quick kisses, Stacie pulled back, gazing at Aubrey. "You're right."

"About–?"

"This dress itches."

Aubrey guessed, "Want me to help take it off?"

"You know, I think I do."

"Now?"

Stacie nodded. "Let's go."


	4. Virgin

**Prompt: Virgin**

* * *

She doesn't get it.

Well, she kind of _does_ , but that didn't mean she _liked_ it.

She hadn't noticed them when they had come in, but after getting their drinks and finding a space they could all fit comfortably, her gaze had fallen upon the scene and hasn't left since. As it were, Stacie scowled across the floor to the stairwell, where Aubrey was talking to Luke, Beca's station manager, and _of course_ Aubrey would be talking to Pretty Boy British Accent, who was on his sixth year of college because he was earning a second degree, and not a freshman who had a reputation for sleeping around.

But here's the part she just didn't get: for weeks she and Aubrey had been sleeping together, not quite as friends-with-benefits but more of a series of one-night stands, because none of those times had been planned, just the two of them at a party or event of some kind, and usually at least three drinks in, and then figuring out whose dorm room was closer and… well, _sex_. But then, out of nowhere, that all stopped. Aubrey still showed up at parties, but she stopped hanging out with Stacie, and stopped sleeping with the freshman.

And when Stacie had cornered her one day after rehearsals, asking why they weren't hooking up anymore, Aubrey had looked at her for one, long discerning moment and asked: "Is that what you really want?"

Like, what _even_ was that? She knew there was a three-year educational gap between them, who even knew what they were teaching in third year Philosophy or Psychology or whatever, much less on their _fourth_ and _graduating_ year, but Stacie was pretty sure sex was one of the areas that Philosophy shouldn't cover. Because sex was simple, and straightforward, and—

" _Is she touching him?_ " Stacie seethed, drawing the attention of her friends, who all turned from their conversation to follow Stacie's line of sight, at where Aubrey was laughing at something Gryffindor Quidditch Reject Keeper was saying, her hand on his arm, and Jessica, Ashley, Cynthia Rose, and Lilly all glanced at each other.

"Aubrey?" Jessica hazarded, because were they all looking at the right thing? Why would Stacie be concerned about their Bellas captain touching someone?

"No, Pam Beesly's sister. Yes, _Aubrey_." Stacie snapped, making Jessica take an alarmed step away from her. "Why is she touching him? How does she even know him?"

"Let's ask Beca," Cynthia Rose suggested, just as Beca and Chloe approached them.

"Ask Beca what?" Beca asked, sidling up beside Lilly.

"How does Aubrey know Luke?" Ashley asked.

Beca's brow furrowed, and she turned to check out what her friends were looking at, and frowned at the sight. She shrugged. "No idea."

"They used to have a class together." Chloe filled in. "Media Analysis, or something like that. I think they were even project partners."

"Dude!" Beca yelped, when Stacie's sudden tightening of her grip on her solo cup resulted in her drink spilling over. Beca, who had been nearest, was hit by stray beer.

Chloe eyed Stacie in concern. "Are you okay?"

"I need a drink." Stacie declared, dropping her crushed cup into a nearby planter, and went in the direction of the kitchen…

But took a major detour through the stairwell, accidentally/on purpose colliding into Not-Cedric Diggory, interrupting whatever cozy conversation he was having with Aubrey. "Oh, sorry! Am I interrupting?"

She ignored Aubrey's unimpressed look, and focused on Luke's amused one.

"Hi. Stacie, right? Becky's friend."

"Yeah. Hi." Stacie smiled at him flirtatiously, because Aubrey had to see him for the douchenozzle that he was. "And you mean Beca."

Ignoring Stacie, Aubrey chuckled, glancing back at Luke. "You call her Becky?"

Luke turned back to her, grinning. "She hates it so much."

"Does her face turn into one resembling a kitten plotting your murder?" Aubrey laughed.

"Yes!" Luke nodded. "How do you put up with that shiny sunny countenance so often?"

"God, at least she wants something from you," Aubrey told him. "She plays nice with you. She just harps on me like a bat out of hell."

"You really _should_ change your set, you know."

"That set got us to Finals last year." Aubrey reminded.

"Yeah, and everyone who cares about college a cappella have seen and heard it." Luke argued. "You don't owe Alice anything."

Aubrey scowled at him. "I don't want to talk to you anymore."

Luke laughed, and lifted his solo cup in a salute at her, before turning and leaving.

As soon as he was gone, Aubrey turned to Stacie. "Stop pouting."

"I'm not pouting." She so was.

"You should enjoy the party." Aubrey told her, before getting up from her seat on the steps, but as she stood up, Stacie moved forward, the two of them ending up with their faces mere inches from each other. Aubrey stilled, and gazed at Stacie, not backing down but not advancing, either. "What are you doing?"

"What are _you_ doing?" Stacie returned. "We need to talk."

"No, we don't."

"Aubrey, come on. I thought we were having fun, and you just…"

"Stacie." Aubrey interrupted, and sighed. "Yeah, it was fun. And we both know I had a good time."

"Then what's the problem?" Stacie demanded.

"The problem is that what I want from you isn't just random drunken sex at the end of a party." Aubrey said quietly. "And until you get that? We have nothing to talk about."

When she tried to move past Stacie, Stacie blocked her path on instinct, and Aubrey eyed her warily.

"What?"

Stacie looked at Aubrey for a beat, before grabbing her cup, and drinking its cola-flavored contents. _Odd._ Not beer. And no burn. _Interesting._

"You might want to slow down, there's no alcohol in that." Aubrey told her.

Stacie finished the drink, and frowned at Aubrey. "Why would you drink virgin rhum and Coke –so really just Coke – at a college party?"

"Because otherwise I'll end up drunk and having sex with you, and that defeats the purpose."

Stacie conceded that point, and looked down to take a deep breath before she lifted her gaze and looked up at her. "You asked me what I want, the other day."

"Yes, and?"

"What if I want all of that, too?" Stacie asked. "I mean, what if I want more than random drunk sex after parties, too?"

Aubrey gazed at her for a long moment, and then asked, "Do you?"

Maybe it was the change of perspective, looking up at Aubrey given her place higher up on the stairway, but Stacie wondered why she'd never noticed Aubrey's eyes had a hint of green in them. "I want it with you."

Aubrey's gaze fell on her now-empty cup in Stacie's hands. "Have you been drinking?"

"I spilled my beer before I could, so—" the rest of the explanation disappeared when Aubrey's mouth met hers, and, _okay_ , she gets it now, because her alcohol-tinged memories did not do Aubrey's kiss justice.


	5. "Where's Stacie?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for PP2.

Honestly, she doesn't know why she'd fought this for so long, or how she'd forgotten how much easier life is when she wasn't taking everything so seriously like a life-or-death matter; just enjoying life to the fullest, being carefree and spontaneous and all the other pretty happy words that she'd somehow forgotten to be while fighting to stay in college, _not_ graduating.

But now that she had reconciled it within herself, this whole moving forward, letting go of the past, graduating at the end of the term deal, and, well, Chloe was finding life a pretty shiny prospect.

Sure, they still had to face Das Sound Machine in Copenhagen, and yeah, Beca was still oblivious as ever, and _okay_ , they still had to win Worlds to save the Barden Bellas from disbandment and get reinstated into the ICCAs, but other than those things, life was shiny.

She didn't know whose brilliant idea it was, but putting cinnamon in her cup of coffee that morning was like a whole new world opening up to her.

But, first things first, and the Bellas both old and new were going to go through their song for Worlds, and while she had a lot of faith in Beca and Emily, Chloe also knew that the tiniest factor could make or break _everything_ , and Emily's song, while great, was also untested.

She was on a cinnamon-tinted caffeine high, not delusional.

Probably knowing the most number of people in the room, since, _ha_ , she'd been a Bella for seven years (and had been the point of contact for all the alumnae), Chloe was left with the primary responsibility of socializing and mingling with everyone, bridging the gap between former and current, and had assigned a set of alumnae per current Bella before she had to stop, look around, and realize something important. Something vital. Something she should have noticed before.

Grabbing Beca's arm as she walked past, Chloe asked, "Where's Stacie?"

Beca paused, frowned, and looked around. "She's not here?"

Chloe gave her a narrow-eyed look.

"…You wouldn't ask otherwise, right." Beca acknowledged. "Well, you're her roommate. Wasn't she in bed this morning?"

Chloe paused, and realized, "no, she never came home last night."

Beca's brows furrowed. "She went out last night?"

"Yeah, pretty late." Chloe motioned Cynthia Rose and Flo over, as well as the nearby Emily, and asked them, "Have you seen Stacie?"

Emily frowned. "Stacie's not here?"

Beca gave her a wry look, which in turn earned her a skeptical one from Chloe.

"Not today, no." Cynthia Rose shook her head.

"Did she come home last night?" Flo asked. "Why was she going out so late last night, anyway?"

"What's going on?" Fat Amy asked, joining the huddle, eager to be part of any conspiracy.

"Where's Stacie?" Several voices asked her, taking the Australian aback.

"Misplace her, did you?" Fat Amy joked.

"This is ridiculous," Beca sighed, and then startled, before she rolled her eyes. "Lilly, where's Stacie?"

From behind her, Lilly poked her head out to be seen by the rest of the group, and mumbled something, the group then looking at her in confusion.

They glanced at each other, hoping any one of them had caught Lilly's statement, and at which point Jessica and Ashley had joined the group.

"Where's Stacie?" The duo asked the group, at the same time their friends parroted the question at them.

Beca, apparently, was right: it was ridiculous.

Especially when Fat Amy noted, "I have a better question for you."

They all turned to her questioningly.

Fat Amy motioned to their surroundings, at all the Bellas gathered inside their rehearsal space, and queried, "Where's Aubrey?"


	6. Prom

When Chloe first told her about the offered paying gig, she'd been hesitant, not because the Bellas didn't need the money – they did – but because she knew from experience that anything prom-related came with built-in drama, and she honestly felt too tired to deal with that.

Yes, they were going to the ICCA finals, after all. Yes, Beca's set list was better than anything she could have come up with on her own.

But she was still the one doing the break downs for each part, because even if Beca, Lilly and Cynthia Rose were all better versed than she was when it came to rhythm and beatboxing – because that was now going to be a Bella thing, apparently – she was still the one with the experience and knowledge in breaking down songs, and since Beca's mix was admittedly pretty good, she was going to have to do Beca's set justice.

This was her life now.

But the Bellas needed funding for their trip to New York, they needed a place to practice their new sound without the pressure of competition, and Chloe's solution, apparently, was a high school prom.

The whole thing was coming in the heels of midterms, which Chloe was being suspiciously blithe about, considering it was their last semester in college. She had papers and presentations and a draft of her graduation thesis, so in a rare act of delegation, she had left the rest of the Barden Bellas to plan their set for Chloe's prom gig, and focused on her schoolwork. She showed up at rehearsals, did her part by rote, and only really focused when they were rehearsing their ICCA set.

So unsurprisingly, she was caught a little off-guard by the fact that Chloe had decided they wouldn't be using their Barden Bella uniforms to the performance.

"There's going to be prepubescent teenage boys there, Bree. How well do you think their dates will feel about them ogling the girls on stage?" Chloe had pointed out, and Aubrey had conceded to her logic.

She had some questions about opting for jeans and shirts as performance attire, but, well, considering what drama they were sure to witness, maybe comfort was appropriately a priority.

And on the subject of prom, it seemed, she and Beca were in agreement.

"What's so bad about prom?" Chloe demanded, en route to the event.

"It's… _prom_." Beca shrugged, as if the single word encapsulated everything she felt about it.

Aubrey, who sat in her seat quietly reading notes for a report she was yet to write, turned when she felt someone tug on her hair from behind.

Stacie leaned forward. "Why do you hate prom?"

"I don't hate it." Aubrey said, slightly defensive. "I just know prom night comes with unnecessary drama and I'd really rather not be a part of it."

Stacie raised a single eyebrow.

And then the words followed, because for reasons she didn't quite get, words had a tendency to tumble out of her when Stacie was involved, as if she were compelled to tell Stacie more than she was naturally inclined to.

"I know it's about the magic of putting on fancy dresses and being young one last time, and dancing with the boy – or girl – you love, but that's hardly ever what happens."

Stacie frowned, but didn't press the matter further.

Their first few songs went off without a hitch, and Aubrey gained a new level of appreciation for Beca's song choices, even if the way the parts were broken down left a lot to be desired. Well, she _did_ leave them to do it, so she didn't have anybody else to blame but herself, which was the only reason she bit back any criticism.

And then there was some activity in the middle of the floor, two girls fighting over a bewildered-looking boy, and Aubrey oddly felt sympathetic towards the boy. Two songs later, two boys got into a fist fight. Just when Aubrey was ready to breathe a sigh of relief, especially since Beca had brought her DJ equipment and the rest of the night's entertainment would be electronically-produced, coronation of Prom King and Queen was announced.

What happened next was exactly what she'd been dreading to witness.

All the candidates for prom royalty were onstage, waiting for the announcements to be made. When Prom King and Queen were announced, and took to the dance floor for their dance, while everyone watched them, Aubrey kept her gaze on the people left on the stage, because she'd seen the posters all over the entrance of the ballroom, both for couples and solo-running candidates.

Having been in a similar position so many times in the past, she could tell the story behind each candidate, and an approximate of the percentage of votes they got.

She also knew the story of what was happening at that moment.

Prom King wasn't dancing with his girlfriend.

And he hadn't even looked in her direction, only having eyes for Prom Queen.

Prom Queen was only too happy with her victory, unaware that the girl she had hugged when she had won her crown was currently suffering a broken heart.

Aubrey hated prom.

High school was a long time ago, and she'd lived a whole life in college since those days, but sometimes, she remembered, and everything she'd felt then came to the fore and reminded her of things she'd really rather forget.

"When I was a sophomore this guy asked me to the senior prom."

Aubrey bent her head, sighing in resignation that she wasn't going to get the solitude she was currently craving, and turned to face Stacie, who had joined her in the bleachers in the field near the gym. "What happened?"

Stacie smiled wryly. "My date came out of the closet two days later."

"Junior year my date and his friends spiked the punch and forgot that they did, and got wasted." Aubrey returned.

Stacie cringed. "Junior prom, I was sharing my date with a girl from another school who was having their prom the same night as ours. I want to say it ended well, but it really didn't."

Aubrey glanced at her. "What about senior prom?"

"I was on a robotics event in California. I didn't go senior year."

Aubrey nodded.

"You?"

"Senior year? Was straight out of a movie: the prom campaign, the limo, the lake with my friends."

"No hotel room?"

"It was a small town. Whoever ran the hotel would have told our parents."

Stacie, who didn't have that kind of experience, could only smile, before the smile faded as she asked, "so why the melancholy?"

Aubrey shrugged. "Just the reminder, I guess."

"Of what?"

"Of how vastly different life could be if you make different choices." Aubrey admitted. "Like the fact that my boyfriend was in love with my best friend and we all could have realized it sooner."

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's…" Aubrey shook her head. "They didn't know, at the time. We all grew up together, and we were a team. And I was the one who got the guy, back then. But then college happened, and they went to the school we all thought we'd go to, but I went to Barden instead."

Stacie studied her carefully. "Do you regret it?"

"No." Aubrey smiled wryly. "It just makes you think, you know, if this guy had been in love with you at all, or if I was just the distraction until he got the girl he really liked."

"Yeah, but," Stacie shrugged. "At least you danced with the guy you liked at prom."

"And that whole time he could have been wishing he was dancing with someone else." Aubrey pointed out. "That's what they don't tell you about prom: almost everyone's guaranteed to be dancing with someone even while they're wishing they were dancing with somebody else."

Stacie gazed at her for one long moment, before getting to her feet and holding her hand out to Aubrey. "Let's go."

"Where?" Aubrey asked, taking Stacie's hand and letting the younger girl pull her to a standing position.

Stacie ignored the question, instead pulling Aubrey close, placing Aubrey's arms around her neck, and once she was sure Aubrey wasn't going to pull away, dug into her blouse, extracting her phone with a sly wink at Aubrey.

Aubrey had a feeling she knew where this was going, but her stupid pragmatic self just had to ask, "Now what?"

"Now we dance." Stacie picked a song, tucking her phone back into her top, and wrapped her arms around Aubrey's waist.

And it was nice, Aubrey had to admit, to just have this kind of quiet moment with someone, a feeling she hasn't had in a long time. Before she knew it, she was dancing closer to Stacie, the earlier stiffness and formality disappearing.

Two songs later, Stacie pulled Aubrey even closer to her, the distance between them almost nonexistent, and quietly asked, "Are you wishing you were dancing with anybody else right now?"

"No," Aubrey admitted softly. "This is fine." She turned her head slightly, meeting Stacie's gaze. "I like being here."

"Good." Stacie smiled. "I like you here."


	7. Wardrobe Malfunction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This doesn't involve Aubrey or Stacie much (or at all), but it's like an unofficial prequel to This Whole Rhapsody. Enjoy.
> 
> Spoilers for PP2.

She’s pretty sure that without an internet connection, she would be a cautionary tale about marrying young, or about newlyweds who go where the husband’s job takes them.

Honestly, Laura was just glad she had the internet, because one of her best friends, who worked in tech, constantly made their group of friends from college try different apps or programs to keep in touch and communicate. And she’s glad for it, especially tonight - well, it was freaking the middle of the night for her, but whatever - because they all would get to watch the Barden Bellas, the group which they had all belonged to in college, back in Barden University, as the current group performed for POTUS on national television.

 _National television_.

Back in their day, just making it to the ICCA finals had been the goal, winning it and becoming national champions had been a distant dream.

Were she and her friends surprised that Alice’s cutthroat approach to the Bellas would be the girls’ first foray into the ICCA Finals? Not really. If anyone had the goal and ambition to do it, it would have been Alice and her take-no-prisoners approach to winning.

What was a surprise was that somehow, Aubrey (okay, actually it was probably Chloe, because Aubrey without Chloe was a disaster waiting to happen) managed to turn the Bellas’ story around from the humiliation of 2011 to winning it the very next year.

And the Bellas were currently _three-time_ national champions. And tonight they were performing at the Kennedy Center. Live on national television.

And, thankfully, online.

The group chat was already active, and Laura put on her headset, ready to converse with her best friend, Taryn, while simultaneously engaging in the chat.

But first.

Laura buzzed the online but silent Aubrey, who immediately buzzed back, but didn’t join the chat thread. Laura glanced over the online users of the group, which were all the Barden Bellas she had known in the four years she had been in college, and…

Oh. Alice was online.

And since the members of the current group about to perform were Aubrey’s friends, she was probably nervous for all of them. Laura considered making a performance anxiety joke, but Aubrey probably didn’t need that right now.

“About time,” Taryn muttered, as Laura opened up the viewing window for the live feed from the Kennedy Center.

“What did I miss?”

“National anthem. Opening remarks. Marching band.” Taryn reported.

And then, the marching band left.

The stage was still dark, but they could discern the silhouettes onstage, and the caption of the screen said “Barden University Bellas”, making the group thread buzz with activity.

_Eight members?_

_They can’t be having problems recruiting._

_Maybe they’re bitches._

_Alice graduated._

_Fuck you._

_That’s the girl behind their winning streak, right?_

_Is that Chloe?_

_IS THAT CHLOE?_

_Didn’t she graduate?_

_Aubrey Posen did Chloe not graduate?_

_Nice costumes._

_How much did that cost._

_Are those costumes tailored? Because we need to discuss, caps._

_AUBREY._

_Not a single scarf in sight._

_They know the scarf is the sign that they’re a Bella, right?_

__AUBREY!_   
_

Okay, maybe the girl was distracted by the fact that her girlfriend – and anyone who was friends with Aubrey on Facebook knew about and would recognize the girlfriend, their pictures were everywhere – was also onstage.

And kept touching herself.

“Aubrey’s girlfriend’s hot.” Taryn mused. “And it still amuses me Aubrey has a girlfriend.”

“Does she need to keep emphasizing her boobs, though?”

“Maybe Aubrey likes them.”

Laura did not need to start thinking that about Aubrey, who was like a younger sister to her. “Not cool, Taryn.”

Taryn laughed.

_That much movement and footwork can’t be good for their breath control._

_You would know about breath control, Jenn. ;)_

_Fuck you too. :P_

_Jumps, wtf._

_I smell backing track._

_ikr?_

_The sound’s good for eight ppl._

_The beatboxing’s cool._

_I guess that’s how they beat the Treblemakers._

_And Aubrey didn’t throw up._

_Let it go, Alice._

“Seriously she’s touching her breasts every time the camera’s on her.” Laura noted. She typed a private message to Aubrey making the same observation.

And received a smiley face in return.

_Why is a tumbler necessary?_

_Visuals, obviously._

_Sorry already blinded by the sequins._

_Hey Posen were you hoping to win on diversity votes by recruiting these girls?_

_Omg Em u can’t just ask someone if they’re the opposite of racist. You racist._

_I'm with Em, it’s a Benetton ad._

Aubrey, Laura noted, wisely chose to stay out of the chat.

_Props._

_PROPS._

_Shit my feed stopped._

“The transitions are amazing.” Laura observed, as she typed out the exact same thing.

“It’s pretty flawless,” Taryn agreed. “Aubrey said the team captain’s an aspiring DJ?”

“With her madlib beats,” Laura confirmed.

“Where’d Aubrey find her?”

“Chloe did.”

“Seriously, is that Chloe?”

Laura typed the question to Aubrey in their private chat, and Aubrey answered.

 _Failed Russian Lit. Thrice_.

Laura was about to ask why when the chat exploded once more.

_Holy wtf aerials why._

_Aerials!_

_Damn it mine’s freezing too._

_They know it’s acappella, right, not Cher in Vegas or P!nk at the Grammys._

_It’s not cool when it’s not Cirque du Soleil._

_Shut up aerials are cool when done right._

_this isn’t it._

_Oh no no no who’s that girl?_

_Fat Amy._

“Rude.” Laura and Taryn said together.

_Don’t be rude._

_A bodysuit tho._

_Bravery can get you anywhere._

_Like performing in front of POTUS and Michelle O. in a body suit._

_She calls herself Fat Amy._

_Singing Miley._

_Did we lift the mandate on bikini-ready bodies?_

_Did we?_

_Did you, Aubrey?_

_Aubrey, for real, we can all see you’re online._

_Feed’s fixed. thank fuck._

_No wait why is she “Fat Amy”_

_?_

_Mine’s still fucking around._

_Why am I seeing this._

_Why am I HEARING this._

_Miley why._

_Whyyyyyomg._

Laura jerked, startled, when the girl called Fat Amy’s sheets tangled, and amidst all the voices, could still hear the audible rip. “Oh my God.”

_OMG._

_WHAT._

_MY EYES!!!_

_!!!!_

“Oh my God.” Laura and Taryn said together, watching, as if in slow motion, as Fat Amy hung suspended in the air, legs askew, and even though the camera was a long shot, it was still clear what and where the wardrobe malfunction was.

Laura jumped out of her seat, and moved behind her seat, clutching on to the back of her chair, and hoping against hope that the curtains would close, the camera shot would change, _anything_.

_WHY IS THIS STILL ON AIR_

_CAMERA TWO OMG SWITCH CAMERA FEEDS_

_OMFG_

_THEY CUTTO BRANGLINA AT AWARDSHOWS ALLT HE TI ME_

_IS SHE TURNING?_

_DON’T JUST STAND THERE_

_CHLOE FOR FUCK’S SAKE YOU’RE HOLDING A CURTAIN COVER THE GIRL_

_CHLOE FFS_

_SHE’S TURNING_

_FFS_

Laura pulled off her headset – she and Taryn were too stunned to speak, anyway – and covered her mouth to keep from swearing any more, but still she couldn’t turn away from the video feed.

And that’s when she saw the little counter at the bottom of the screen, indicating just how many people were watching.

And the growing horror as the numbers ticked _upward_.


	8. Productivity

She can't pinpoint exactly the logic behind agreeing to Stacie's suggestion that sex would help loosen her up, but she remembers thinking that it had been a very reasonable, very level-headed argument and deductive (or had it been transitive?) reasoning Stacie had presented her, and got her convinced that it was a good idea.

Okay. _Maybe_ she mostly remembers the very low cut of Stacie's blouse that had drawn most of her attention, but she's pretty sure Stacie had been very reasonable and convincing in her argument.

Okay. _Mostly_ convincing.

 _Okay._ Stacie hadn't had to do much, because only an idiot said no to sex with Stacie Conrad, and as Stacie's girlfriend, she had the privilege of all-time access, and she'd like to believe she wasn't an idiot.

And, _sure_ , she can't exactly argue against the fact that she was a lot less stressed and less easily upset about a lot of things since she started dating Stacie, and the sex definitely helped, because the workload of graduate school didn't feel so impossible when she wasn't worrying about it 24/7.

But.

She can't exactly say that her productivity hasn't been affected, because while her approach to her work felt a lot less like the weight of the world, she can't exactly say that she was having an easier time of it.

But she wasn't about to suggest easing up on the physical activities, because the last time she'd made that mistake, she was pretty sure she had made a good fraction of Barden University's student population cry.

Facing the amount of work she had to accomplish by the end of the week, Aubrey was just grateful that she didn't have to attend the Bellas' rehearsals that afternoon, and hopefully she would be able to put a dent on her workload without starting to resent the fact that she was the only grad student in a house full of undergrads – although she totally resented Chloe and her decision to fail Russian Lit to stay as an undergraduate – and the fact that her undergraduate girlfriend was some kind of academic genius who could breeze through her classes without batting an eyelash.

Okay.

So.

Difficult, lengthy homework first, or easy, one-page essay or reports?

Figuring she was pretty sure half of her homework demanded library time, she decided to start on a presentation from the reading material they had been assigned earlier in the week, which she had postponed doing in favor of _Netflix and chill_ with Stacie while the rest of the Barden Bellas had attended some random campus party. For two consecutive nights.

It didn't really help that Stacie found Aubrey's nerd mode adorable and hot, or that Aubrey was pretty much a big pile of mush when it came to Stacie, so the solution, really, was to take advantage of the time when Stacie was in rehearsals.

However.

So engrossed in the creation of her presentation – and she was forever grateful to Ashley for teaching her how to make graphs and charts from imported data – she barely registered the door opening until her chair was being yanked back and she recovered from the momentary whiplash to look up at her grinning girlfriend. "Hey, girlfriend. What'cha doin', good lookin'?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "You actually get cheesier over time."

"'Cause I get away with it." Stacie shrugged, returning Aubrey's chair to an upright position and bending down to wrap her arms around Aubrey's shoulders from behind and looking at her computer screen. "Ugh. Charts. Why do you keep putting charts in things?"

"Because my professor doesn't know how to make them and seeing them blows his mind." Aubrey replied, before tilting her head slightly to glance at Stacie. "Rehearsals ended early?"

"Beca and Chloe and the Pain-in-the-Ass Mystery of Their Unresolved Sexual Tension." Stacie rolled her eyes. She leaned back, and turned Aubrey's swivel chair around to face her. "Speaking of sex…"

"We really weren't."

Stacie pouted. "But it's Weird Position Wednesday."

Aubrey frowned. "I don't think that's a thing."

"But it should be." Stacie took Aubrey's hand, and pulled Aubrey and her chair along as she moved back to sit on the bed. "So I've been reading the Kama Sutra during my library shift, right, and—"

"And I'm obviously never stepping foot in the library again." Aubrey interrupted, sighing. "I'm sorry, and you know I love listening to you talk. But before you finish, and make me unable to think about anything _but_ weird sexual positions, I have, like, a shit-ton of work to do by Friday, and figuring out the reality of spatial dynamics to make page whatever work just has to be put on hold."

Stacie paused, and frowned. "That bad?"

"Usually I can play catch up, but this week's been the worst, and I didn't realize how much I had to do until I…" Aubrey moved her chair back to her desk, picked up a sheet of paper, and returned to her place in front of the bed. "I listed everything, and these," she indicated the deadlines for each item, "are the stuff I need to do by Friday."

Stacie took note, and made a face. "You're not kidding about the shit-ton."

"I know."

"And I've been distracting you."

"Well, I've kind of been _letting_ _you_ , so…"

Stacie glanced at the list again, and nodded. "I guess I could hang out with the girls tonight."

"Thank you."

"Under protest." Stacie reminded.

"I understand."

Stacie glanced at her. "I notice you're not suggesting keeping away from you until you're done."

"Yeah, that didn't work last time, I doubt it'll work this time, either."

"And you made Chloe cry."

"And Jessica."

"And I saw tears on Beca that time, too, so, yeah, let's not do that again." Stacie concluded. She glanced at Aubrey's laptop screen. "How many have you done so far?"

"Including this presentation?" Aubrey asked. At Stacie's nod, she grimaced. "That's pretty much it."

Stacie pursed her lips. "Do you need motivation?"

"Passing my subjects is pretty much all the motivation I need."

Stacie laughed. "Or…"

Aubrey lifted an eyebrow.

Stacie glanced back at the list, and showed it to Aubrey. "Each one you finish? You owe me a round."

"I don't think drinking is—"

"Not drinks." Stacie cut her off.

Aubrey gave her a puzzled look. "So you're inciting me to finish my work by rewarding me with what, exactly?"

Stacie grinned as she stood up, before leaning in close to whisper in Aubrey's ear. "We'll do whatever you want."

Aubrey arched an eyebrow, unquestionably intrigued. "Meaning?"

Stacie shrugged, pulling back slightly to grin at her. "Guess you'll just have to finish your homework to find out, won't you?"


	9. Pipette

She can’t believe she has to deal with this.

The Barden Bellas all fell silent when Aubrey stormed into the gym that acted as their rehearsal space, and even though they had all been making inroads in developing real relationships and friendships in preparation for the ICCA Finals, months of Aubrey’s reign of terror had after-effects, and the girls were all still pretty terrified of their blond captain.

They watched silently as Chloe approached Aubrey, being the only one who could take on Aubrey when she was in this kind of foul mood and not have her head bitten off, and since they were all watching and waiting to see what was wrong, they all saw Chloe flinch, and glance in Stacie’s direction before quickly turning back to Aubrey.

“Dude, what did you do?” Beca asked Stacie, worried.

But judging from the look of confusion and concern on Stacie’s face, the girl had no idea. She thought she and Aubrey were getting along pretty well – possibly even a little _too_ well, if you catch her drift – and she’s pretty sure she hadn’t said or done anything particularly weird or off-color, to get that kind of reaction from Chloe. She’s even made sure to keep the hunter in line, worried about how Aubrey might feel about being concurrent with other sexual partners.

She justifies the monogamy by telling herself that it’s for the good of the Barden Bellas, since Aubrey tended to be a lot more complacent and willing to listen when she didn’t feel embattled or stressed, and, honestly, Stacie had been flattering herself by just how relaxed Aubrey had been since they started… ’ _hanging out_ ’.

Until that afternoon.

Rehearsals were tense, mostly because everyone was worried that their weeks of progress would be ruined by Aubrey’s apparent displeasure, even though Aubrey kept quiet and let Beca and Chloe take over that afternoon’s session. In the end, after a brief discussion with Aubrey, Chloe called it a day, since everyone was on edge and clearly afraid of tripping an imaginary live wire and activating Aubrey’s bitch mode, making rehearsals a bust.

Stacie figured she wouldn’t be able to relax until she got to the bottom of Aubrey’s foul mood, and hesitantly approached the other girl once everyone had gone. “Aubrey?”

Aubrey looked up at her, and while there was a momentary pause in which she looked weary, she still smiled faintly at Stacie. “Hi, Stacie. How can I help you?”

Okay, weird. Aubrey was clearly pissed off about something – and Chloe’s actions indicated it had something to do with Stacie – but she was acting like all things were well and good between her and Stacie.

“You weren’t too involved in today’s rehearsals.” Stacie pointed out.

Aubrey glanced at her, and then sighed. “That obvious?”

“Just a little.”

Aubrey turned to face her. “Is there something you want to tell me, Stacie?”

Stacie frowned, unsure as to what Aubrey could mean about the question, and thought back on anything she might have said or done recently.

Aubrey took a moment to let Stacie figure out what she was talking about, but when the girl clearly had no indication whatsoever what the topic could be, she rolled her eyes. “You’re not cleared to compete in the finals, Stacie.”

“What?” Stacie exclaimed, startled. _What the fuck?_ “That’s not possible. Why would you say that?”

Aubrey gave her a discerning look, and dug into her purse, pulling out the incriminating evidence, and Stacie grabbed it when Aubrey presented it to her.

“I had to get permission from administration and your teachers to let you travel for the finals, and it turns out you have an outstanding debt to the Science Lab, and they won’t sign off on your clearance until you pay them for a pipette you broke?”

Stacie’s expression went from confused to annoyed. “I didn’t break it! Some jerk took the one in my set and put in a broken one!”

“Yeah, well, they’re expecting you to pay for it.” Aubrey told her flatly. “And until you do, you’re not going to New York.”

Stacie frowned. “Aubrey, you know I wouldn’t do anything to risk our chances at the finals.”

Aubrey sighed. “I know. And if I didn’t already know none of the Trebles are smart enough to be caught dead in a Science Lab, I’d think they were behind this.” She folded her arms in front of her chest, and gazed at Stacie. “How long ago was this?”

Stacie shrugged. “I don’t know. January?”

“It’s been months?”

“They said I could file a complaint stating my side of the story, and I did. When I didn’t hear anything, I thought it was still under investigation.” Stacie said defensively.

Aubrey squinted at her. “It’s fifty dollars.”

“It’s the principle, Aubrey.” Stacie insisted.

Aubrey tilted her head to the side, and took a guess. “You don’t have the money?”

“Why are they letting a bunch of freshmen use the expensive equipment?” Stacie complained, instead of answering directly. “I’m a college freshman, where am I supposed to pick up that kind of money?”

Aubrey rolled her eyes. “The Bellas have a bank account for this exact reason.”

“Our fundraising was a bust.” Stacie pointed out.

“But our alumni booster club is composed of very successful women.” Aubrey countered.

“You didn’t bail out Beca when she got arrested.”

“Because that cost more than fifty dollars, _and_ she had to be released to an adult to which, surprise, none of us in the group was twenty-one at the time.” Aubrey noted.

Stacie opened her mouth for her next rejoinder, but quickly realized it was pointless. She was picking a fight because her pride was being bruised, but she knew Aubrey was only trying to help. She sighed. “I promise I’ll pay you back.”

Aubrey waved off the statement. “It’s money for the Barden Bellas. And I’m sure a bikini car wash could easily replenish the funds, but no, everyone vetoed that suggestion.”

“It’s demeaning.”

“Well, we all know that, but it’s the easiest money a group of girls can make.” Aubrey stated. She checked her watch, and nodded. “Do you have somewhere to be? You have to be the one to make the payment, and I want to get this squared off already.”

“No, sure, let’s go.” Stacie nodded, before heading off to pick up her bag, and joined Aubrey at the door. She glanced cursorily at Aubrey, and asked, “So why were you so tense this afternoon?”

“Tense?” Aubrey echoed.

Stacie nodded.

Aubrey exhaled. “I didn’t know how I was going to bring it up with you. Especially the part about giving you the money.”

“Because we’re sleeping together?”

Aubrey nodded. “I didn’t want you to think I was overstepping. I got the note because I’m your captain. And as your captain, I have the responsibility to help you with these kinds of things.”

Stacie nodded in understanding. “It’s fine, Aubrey. I get it.”

Aubrey abruptly stopped walking, taking hold of Stacie’s wrist and forcing the other girl to stop and turn towards her. “But whether as your captain, or a friend, or whatever we are when we’re hooking up? If something like this happens, or you need something, you tell me. I’m terrible and terrifying and awful on a good day, but I’m terrible and terrifying and awful _on your side_. Okay?”

Stacie gazed at her for a long moment, and finally nodded. “Okay.”

They continued walking, the grip Aubrey had on Stacie’s wrist loosening until Stacie took Aubrey’s hand in her own.

After a while, Stacie spoke again. “So what had you so pissed off?”

Aubrey groaned. “They wouldn’t let me pay for the – honestly, a pipette? – lab equipment, even though _they_ sent _me_ a copy of the bill, obviously expecting me to take action on it, and that was a great way to lose nearly an hour before rehearsals.”

Stacie squeezed her hand gently. “You know everyone’s terrified of you again, right?”

Aubrey smiled wryly. “Is it wrong that I’m seeing that as a silver lining?”


	10. Waffles

In a childhood fraught with the fear of failure and disappointing her father – she had not yet learned as a child that she would never overcome that disappointment – Aubrey still had good memories. She remembered Sunday brunch with her grandparents, when she and her parents would meet them at church and she would go with them after the service and for two hours every week not worry about anything. She remembered doing her homework in the garden, whenever her dad was out of town and her mother didn’t want her cooped up in her room at her desk in the afternoons. She remembered sitting in the truck with her grandfather as he showed her around his farm, or with her grandmother during choir lessons.

She remembered sitting in the kitchen doing whatever, mostly watching her mother cook or bake or create her latest homemade jam recipe from scratch, and wondering if she would ever become as good a homemaker as her mother was.

But for all of her inability to be a domestic goddess like her mother, Aubrey never stopped being amazed at how well her mom worked a kitchen.

She had barely sat down on a stool when her mother placed a mug, a cup, and the basics for coffee and tea on the counter in front of her. Aubrey blinked, her brain struggling to catch up, when her mother spoke.

“Pancakes or waffles?” Mrs. Posen asked, hand poised with the flour.

“Waffles.” Aubrey answered, her hand reaching for another mug, and started mixing two cups of coffee. She was going to have to wake up Stacie in the guest room, and that girl liked to wake on her own time and accord. If she had to be woken forcibly, it had to be in one of two ways (or both): coffee, or sex. And since sex in Aubrey’s parents’ home was out of the question…

“You were out late last night.” Her mother noted.

Aubrey glanced up at her, and their gazes met briefly before turning back to their previous tasks.

They both knew _why_ Aubrey had gone out after dinner. And her mother probably also knew why Aubrey and Stacie had only returned well past the household’s regular bedtime.

It was a silent agreement between mother and daughter that if Aubrey’s mother couldn’t interject with the way her husband spoke to his daughter, they wouldn’t talk about it at all. She tried – Aubrey knew just how much she had tried, at first, to try and temper his irrational approach to raising their daughter – but in the end her mother could only try to do her best and compensate for what Aubrey had to put up with.

The worst part – the absolute _worst part_ – was that when her father stopped and seemed to forget what an absolute disappointment Aubrey was; when he’d take her to sporting events or taught her how to hunt, and she _got it_ and wasn’t being _a girl_ about it, or all those times she had been awarded for something or other in school and he beamed and smiled proudly and declared that she did well to gain that achievement: he was just her _dad_ again. In those moments, she too would forget that he never told her that he was proud of her, or how much she disappointed him just for being born a girl.

But God knows how much he’d hate her even more if he ever found out she was _dating_ a girl.

Aubrey stood up and went to pick up the electric kettle for the hot water, and glanced at the stove where her mother was attending to the waffles. “Do we have bacon? Stacie has a thing about having bacon with breakfast.”

Her mother glanced at her, but nodded. “Check the fridge.”

Aubrey did as she was told, handing the pack of bacon over, before she poured hot water into the cups.

“Do you have breakfast with Stacie often?”

Shit.

Aubrey’s hand froze, but she quickly recovered and stopped pouring water before her coffee-water ratio got screwed up. She forced down her panic, clenching her jaw tight against the bile she could already taste. “Why do you say that?”

“You mix her coffee and know about her preference for bacon.” Mrs. Posen pointed out. She glanced at the stiff form of her daughter, even though Aubrey still hadn’t turned to face her, and sighed, giving the girl an out. “Bellas practice must have been getting earlier, with you in charge.”

Aubrey closed her eyes, but refused to allow relief or calm to overcome her just yet. “…Yeah. I guess.”

Silence fell upon the kitchen, Aubrey refusing to turn to look at her mother, while her mother studied her daughter’s back, resentful of the way Aubrey couldn’t even look at her.

“These are almost ready. You should go wake her up and get her to eat.” Mrs. Posen suggested, and watched as Aubrey picked up one cup of coffee and did as she was told. She didn’t mention the fact that in their household, unless there was a party of some kind, food never left the dining room and kitchen.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shitfuckmotherfucking— Aubrey knocked on the guest room door, and almost bowled over Stacie when the brunette answered the door, forcing herself into the room and closing the door behind her, locking it. “I fucked up.”

Stacie blinked sleepily, and furrowed her brow. “Good morning–?”

Aubrey shoved the coffee cup into Stacie’s hands, and rubbed her face with her hands. “I’m screwed. I’m so fucked.”

“I just woke up.” Stacie mumbled, taking a sip from the cup and moaning her appreciation.

Aubrey paused, and allowed herself to appreciate both how adorable a barely-awake Stacie was, and Stacie’s coffee-related moans. Then she snapped out of it, and shook her head. “Dammit!”

“Calm down.” Stacie sat at the edge of the bed, a little more alert than when she’d opened the door, and looked up at her agitated girlfriend. “Tell Dr. Stacie what’s wrong.”

“I think my mom knows.”

Stacie blinked, and stared, and took a slow sip from her cup. “Explain.”

“She was making waffles, and I said you liked bacon, and I made coffee, which, I guess, was code Miss Teen South Carolina figured out, and…” Aubrey whimpered.

Stacie sighed. “Babe?”

Aubrey glanced at her.

“Do it now, or else you’re gonna puke in the kitchen and that’s just a waste of breakfast.” Stacie advised, and closed her eyes and winced when Aubrey rushed past her and had barely closed the bathroom door behind her when the sound of retching reached her ears.

Stacie sipped her coffee as calmly as she could, knowing she couldn’t help Aubrey at the moment, and glanced around the guest room as she waited.

She had known from the start that Aubrey’s visit to her parents’ home wasn’t going to be a walk in the park – anyone who has spent more than a few hours with Aubrey knew the girl had a whole subscription of issues when it came to her dad – but Aubrey’s mother had insisted, and for some reason, Aubrey had agreed. When they had arrived, the woman had commandeered them into the kitchen and plied them with homemade pie and jam, and there had been a lightheartedness to the interaction that made Stacie wonder why Aubrey was so uptight.

Then her father had come home, and Stacie got her answer. Aubrey’s father was a stereotype, a self-made man who had come from nothing, joined the Armed Forces, and had come home a hero. His expectations of his daughter were high, and from what Aubrey had confessed in the past, he had also expected complete and utter failure.

Stacie had suddenly flashed back to that afternoon at the gym, when the Bellas had start confessing stories about their lives in an attempt to start over, the way Chloe had shaken her head at the rest of the Bellas after Aubrey’s remark about how her father reacted to failure. Chloe had known. And it was probably why she tried so hard to keep the peace when it came to Aubrey, because _she_ knew why Aubrey needed every bit of control she could get her hands on.

And it explained why Aubrey had warned her throughout the drive from Barden to South Carolina to try and just ignore everything she heard, because Aubrey was used to “it”, whatever it had been, and she hadn’t wanted to alarm Stacie with what she was likely to hear.

Because Stacie _had_ been alarmed. She hadn’t even known that anyone whose daughter was as hardworking and dedicated and successful as Aubrey could still be so awful and demeaning.

And she wondered, was Aubrey trying to scare her off? Was bringing Stacie to her family home a way for the blonde to give Stacie an out in their still-young relationship, because between the impending separation of Aubrey being in graduate school and their own insecurities regarding their relationship, Stacie knew Aubrey thought it would be easier for Stacie to enjoy being a college student without strings attached. Aubrey had never actually said it out loud, but Stacie could tell.

Was that the nagging feeling that lingered in Stacie’s spine, since they had arrived in Aubrey’s home?

When the sound of vomiting finally quieted down, she set her cup down on the dresser and went into bathroom, watching quietly as Aubrey washed her mouth first with water and then with the mouthwash that Stacie had unpacked with her toothbrush.

When Aubrey straightened up, her gaze met Stacie’s in the mirror. “I’m sorry.”

Stacie shrugged. “I’m just surprised it took this long.”

Aubrey gave her a wry glare. “Thanks.”

Stacie walked closer, and wrapped her arms around Aubrey’s waist from behind, settling her chin on Aubrey’s shoulder. “What do you want to do?”

Aubrey lowered her gaze, and exhaled. “I don’t know.”

“Okay.” Stacie straightened up, and turned to kiss Aubrey’s temple. “We’re gonna go and have breakfast with your mother. We won’t confirm or deny, we won’t give her any more ammunition than she already has. You be Aubrey, her newly-graduated awesome daughter, and I will be the girl who needed a ride north. And then, if we’re lucky, we’ll get out unscathed and do what we do best.”

“Sing that awful Eternal Flame medley?” Aubrey joked weakly.

Stacie laughed softly. “The term is mashup, grandma.”

Aubrey took a deep breath, and lifted her chin back up, gazing at the mirror image of the two of them. “You could do better, you know.”

Stacie grinned. “I know.”

Aubrey gently swat the side of Stacie’s head. “Jerk.”

Stacie laughed, and stepped back away from her, grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the room. “Come on, grandma, let’s go have awkward breakfast with your mom.”

Aubrey reluctantly followed, grabbing Stacie’s coffee cup as they left. “Oh, just a warning: My mom might corner you to talk about me, and boys, and Chloe. Be careful. She likes Chloe, but she thinks most redheads are libertines and the scourge of the earth.”

Stacie paused as they got to the hallway, thoughtful. “You said your mom was Miss SC?”

“Miss _Teen_ SC.” Aubrey corrected.

Stacie paused thoughtfully, before a smile started to grow on her face. “Does Aubrey Posen have a dark past of beauty pageants?”

“Don’t.” But Aubrey knew it was a futile exercise.

Stacie turned to her excitedly. “Did you pageant?”

Aubrey grumbled.

“Should I ask your mom?”

Aubrey groaned. “When I was younger. _Much_ younger.”

“Did you win?”

Aubrey rolled her eyes. “Twice.”

“Oh my aca-gods how is this a secret?” Stacie glanced around the hallway, as if she would find proof of this dark past.

“Because I wasn’t very good at them.” Aubrey told her. “You know that scene in Mulan, when she met the matchmaker?” At Stacie’s nod, Aubrey pointed at herself. “That was me, with the pageant coach.”

“But you won. Twice.”

“When it was fun.” Aubrey admitted. “Then it became a _thing_ , and there were coaches, and someone mentioned how some pageants offer scholarships, and the career path of pageantry…” She shook her head. “It stopped being fun, and started being _work_ , and… well, let’s just say the Lincoln Center was not the first time I threw up onstage.”

“Thus ending your pageant career.” Stacie concluded.

“Spectacularly.” Aubrey agreed, as they descended the staircase to the main floor. “At least when I was a kid YouTube didn’t exist, and people don’t have VHS or minidiscs anymore.”

“Oh my god _minidiscs_?” Stacie burst out laughing.

“Someone made a killing for Sony around here, okay? The whole town thought minidiscs were the next big thing.” Aubrey said defensively.

“And earlier you actually said the words ‘libertines’ and ‘scourge of the earth’?” Stacie reminded, ignoring the defense. “How _old_ are you?”

“Shut up.”

“Do iPods and smartphones pose a challenge to you? Do I need to explain how the internet works? Do electricity and indoor plumbing confound you?”

“I hate you so much right now.” Aubrey grumbled, although the fondness in her gaze belied the truth.

Stacie scoffed, despite her obvious amusement. “Please. You love me.”

Aubrey glanced at her, and smiled. She couldn’t say the words – the walls always had ears – but for all of Stacie’s feigned obliviousness, in this case, she didn’t need them.


	11. Match

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for PP2.

She hated fire pit duty.

Oh, she loved campfires, don’t get her wrong. She loved the fact that The Lodge had not one, but two fire pits for campfires, and whether it was the one near the edge of the woods, or the one at the back of the retreat’s mess hall, both allowed for pretty great nights out in the middle of the nowhere. (She liked to say it was the middle of the woods, but there was an actual road and a man-made clearing for the retreat, so that would technically be a lie.)

She loved hanging out with – well, technically they were her subordinates, but given the limited size and scope of the retreat, they had become her friends – her coworkers, and, honestly, there can’t be anything better than hanging out at a campfire, whether in a big group with friends, or, and she was going by assumption because she had absolutely no experience to back this up, just one person, under a sky full of stars.

But still, she hated fire pit duty. Whether it was cleaning it – which was a challenge to anyone’s perseverance – or lighting it, which was a challenge to one’s patience, fire pit duty was a drag. At least she was on fire pit duty _and_ was slated to enjoy the pit with the Barden Bellas for the evening, so at least she had _that_ to look forward to.

But first, lighting the fire.

She was grateful that The Lodge’s requirements for starting a fire was significantly less troublesome than from her days as a Girl Scout, and they had a regular delivery of environment-friendly kindling and logs that took away the need to find them herself. And fire starters were gifts from the outdoor supply gods.

Really, her main complaint was the patience one needed to get the fire started and have the flame stable enough to limit sparks, be warm and toasty but not hot, _and_ be low enough to encourage roasting marshmallows for s'mores.

Seriously, it was a _fire_. There was a reason why cavemen feared it, and she’s pretty sure that fire was still one of those elements that scientists haven’t quite learned to control.

And speaking of scientists.

“You’ve been avoiding me.”

Aubrey momentarily paused from her task, putting together a neat pile of logs for her fire, before she addressed the accusation. “I’ve been busy.”

“That’s not an answer.”

Aubrey glanced over at Stacie, who had taken a seat on one of the benches near the pit. The younger girl was still dressed in her workout clothes – Aubrey had left them after the girls got Beca down from her bear trap, and only remembered at that very moment that she had failed to tell them that they could (and really, _should_ ) take a shower to wash off the dirt and grime (and mud) from themselves before dinner. And for someone who had gone through a grueling obstacle course, a mud pit, _and_ Beca’s earlier meltdown, Stacie still looked pretty good.

Aubrey rolled her eyes at herself, turning back to her task. Stacie _always_ looked good. That was sort of the problem. “You told me to.”

“Did I?”

Aubrey scoffed. “I have enough responsibilities and things to do that go far beyond spending time merely avoiding you, Stacie.”

“Mmm.” Stacie hummed, tilting her head slightly and admiring the lines of Aubrey’s profile as the other woman leaned over the fire pit, one hand on the edge of the bowl, keeping herself steady while leaning as far towards the middle as she dared. “Don’t you have staff to do that for you?”

“We all take turns prepping and cleaning.” Aubrey answered. She regarded the small pile she had created, and nodding her approval, started to clear the top of the fire bowl of the logs that she would add later. When that was done, she turned back to Stacie. “Are you just going to sit there?”

Stacie shrugged. “We had a deal.”

Aubrey arched an eyebrow.

“We agreed that you wouldn’t play favorites while we were around the other Bellas.” Stacie reminded. She gestured around them, indicating the lack of her fellow Barden Bellas.

Aubrey rolled her eyes. “You also said you wouldn’t make it so hard to not play favorites, but,” she waved her hand towards Stacie, as if to indicate her point.

Stacie glanced down at herself, before she looked back up and frowned in confusion. “I don't—”

“It’s kind of hard not to play favorites when you look like you do, Stacie.” Aubrey harrumphed.

Stacie stalled, and grinned as she realized what Aubrey was trying to say. “I can’t control how hot I am or the fact that you’re attracted to me, Aubrey.”

“You could _try_.” Aubrey grumbled.

Stacie laughed.

“And you’re the one who didn’t want to tell them we were dating yet, so I don’t know how me avoiding you is a problem.” Aubrey reminded.

“But I miss you!” Stacie whined.

“And I told you to tell them before you headed up here for the retreat, so,” Aubrey shrugged, and reached for the box of matches.

Stacie jumped, and grabbed it before Aubrey could. “We’ve been busy!”

“I know! And I was willing to wait it out but that was before Chloe insisted that only a retreat could fix your performance problems so—”

Stacie gasped in indignation. “I do not have performance problems! Take that back!”

“The Bellas.” Aubrey rolled her eyes in exasperation, because she loved this girl, but the way she could bring everything back to sex was a little concerning sometimes. “And the Bellas’ inability to perform as a competitive group anymore.” She reached over for the box, but Stacie pulled it out of reach. “Stacie.”

“Oh, do you need a match to light your campfire?” Stacie asked innocently.

“You know I—” Aubrey cut her statement short when Stacie pointedly tucked the box under her shirt, and into her bra. “That’s mature.”

Stacie shrugged. “I don’t make the rules, Aubrey.”

Aubrey narrowed her eyes at the other girl. “So, to recap: you didn’t tell the Bellas we were dating because you wanted to concentrate on your performance at the Kennedy Center, and then didn’t tell them because you were neck-deep in a mess of your own creation, _and then_ continued not to tell them because of Worlds and DSM; and when I told you to figure out a way to tell them before you got here, you didn’t want to tell them because you didn’t want it to look like I’d give you special treatment because we’re dating. But because I can’t keep my hands off of you, my option is to avoid you, and you’re having a fit because we both have to pretend we haven’t seen each other naked?”

Stacie nodded. “Yes.”

Aubrey shook her head. “You know we have problems when it sounds like _I’m_ the normal one between us, right?”

“I love you too, but you saw them earlier. Beca and Chloe are going off the rails in opposite directions, and everyone else is so afraid of rocking the boat, especially with Emily, and you and me being orgasm buddies will probably tip them right over the edge.”

“Okay, fine. I get it. But,” Aubrey shrugged, “What do you expect to get by keeping those matches and keep me from lighting this fire?”

“Ten minutes of alone time.” Stacie declared.

Aubrey gave free reign to her skepticism. “Because we do so well with quick rounds.”

Stacie faltered, because, yes, it’s been weeks and ten minutes probably weren’t going to cut it. She pouted. “But I miss you.”

Aubrey shrugged, digging into her pants pocket for a lighter and, as Stacie stared dumbfounded, lit the fire starter and placed it at the bottom of her pile of wood, and then waited for the flame to catch.

“You sneak.”

“I figured either you or Chloe would try something.” Aubrey shrugged, and after building her fire to a decent size, pocketed the lighter and stood up. She walked over to where Stacie sat, and bent down, leaning in close to the other girl in a manner that was both intimate and more than a little intimidating. “Can you sneak out when the girls are asleep?”

Stacie wasn’t sure, but she nodded anyway with an eagerness she should probably be embarrassed about.

“Good.” Aubrey smiled. “Because I’ve missed you too.” She pulled back as Stacie started to lean forward, standing straight and grinning when Stacie pouted. She pointed at Stacie’s chest. “And I’m going to make sure I get my matches back.”


	12. High Society

Sometimes Stacie can’t believe her girlfriend, who stress-vomits and has a vocabulary that can make the most seasoned of stevedores blush, grew up in the class of society that had cotillions and debutante balls and garden parties that served tea and scones.

Aubrey grew up in a social circle that included _tea parties_. That didn’t include stuffed toys or dolls.

Aubrey knew how to navigate that kind of social world; she could enter a gathering and know instinctively who to be seen with to be accepted as part of the group, or who the social outcast who just got invited out of politeness was. She had the part down pat, too: the feigned politeness and cutting commentary with the fake laugh accompaniment, the exact vocabulary to be recognized as _one of them_ , what finger food can and should be eaten, and what was best left on the tray.

Stacie doubted she would ever get over how much she loved it when Aubrey played up the role, how she went from the girl who wasn’t above licking down her arm to salvage the melted ice cream of a dripping ice cream cone to refusing to eat a tea sandwich because she deemed the portions “all wrong” - and have people agree with her.

And somehow – and Stacie could never figure out _how_ – Aubrey could even drop names like the best of them and not be singled out or questioned on just who she was referring to.

(It was, Stacie had to admit, pretty amazing.)

So it made sense, given that background, that for a surveillance job like the one they were carrying out, Aubrey would be the one to attend the party while Stacie and Lilly surveyed the security of the perimeter.

One thing she didn’t love about these things? When Aubrey had to flirt with someone – anyone – regardless of how integral the flirting was to the operation. Tonight’s target, unfortunately, was the host, and even more unfortunately, he had a thing for blondes, and Aubrey, damn her, knew just how to capture – and keep – the attention of over-aged pompous dudebro frat boys, who in this case collected sexual harassment allegations (that never made it to lawsuits) almost the same way he collected works of art.

And while his demographic was their usual target, they usually didn’t go through the front door for this kind of operation, not when everyone in the room pretty much knew each other, but as Aubrey had pointed out, he was a collector, and tonight was the only time he was willing to show the public the works he had amassed over the past year before he locked them up in a storage unit that last she’d heard, Chloe and the rest of their group were still figuring out how to clear out before she, Aubrey and Lilly pulled off their part in the operation.

He had also made his wealth in getting people to put money into bad investments, so Stacie could understand this operation was a two-handed slap in the face to the guy.

And, sure, she was the one who was going to be taking that ridiculous black dress off Aubrey later tonight, but that didn’t mean she had to like the way the guy was monopolizing Aubrey’s attention.

Then again, men might have their preferences, but Stacie knew their preferences had nothing on their weaknesses.

And she had legs for miles and boobs to die for.

Luckily, Aubrey wasn’t the only hangers-on their host had that evening, and Aubrey was able to discreetly leave the floor, and Stacie took over the surveillance.

But trust Aubrey to take advantage of the fact that Stacie had an earpiece and couldn’t really answer back.

“What the actual fuck, Stacie.” Aubrey fumed, while Stacie drank some champagne to cover the grimace in hearing Aubrey’s tone. Unless she did something special, Stacie could probably say goodbye to the prospect of helping Aubrey out of her dress. Or getting Aubrey to help Stacie out of her own. “He was ready to give me the keys to his kingdom.”

Thankfully, Stacie had managed to find her way into a group of people surrounding some other loud-mouthed money manager, whose very colorful - and very vocal - narration was still somehow drowned out by the white noise of the gathered people talking among themselves, making everyone oblivious to a woman who, if they looked closely, appeared to be talking to herself. “You were about to get made.”

Aubrey scoffed loudly.

“One of the other girls was giving you the stink-eye, and we both know all it takes is a jealous streak.”

Aubrey grumbled, but acquiesced, having given Stacie enough grief in the past for flirting too intensely with a mark to get the significant other or ex or even just the _honorary_ significant other in their life to look closer than necessary.

But they both knew Stacie was out of her depth in that room, especially since the guy had somehow wormed his way into a semblance of social acceptance in the old money crowd by buying his way into their good graces, and the old money crowd can sense an outsider the same way animals just _knew_ if there was a change in the earth’s atmosphere.

As Aubrey shared points of concern she wanted Stacie to pay particularly close attention to, Stacie found that she couldn’t exactly concentrate because one of the effects of Aubrey’s high society act was the change in pitch, tone and volume of her voice, going higher and more shrill, a little louder than necessary, and her accent and diction also changed to something Stacie liked to describe as Real Housewives of Wherever the Fuck the Money Is, and when she eventually dropped it, her voice tended to go a pitch lower, as if to offset the previous changes. It was a simple thing, but Stacie always found Aubrey’s lower pitch to be a mighty distraction (and, let’s be honest, a bit of a turn on), so half of Aubrey’s observation went unnoticed.

“Oh, come on!”

Stacie barely kept herself from asking “what”, because she was in a smaller group now, and listening to a couple talk about their new home, and they would definitely notice if she said anything offhand.

Stacie couldn’t hear anything on her earpiece, so she knew Aubrey had muted her end of the communication device, which meant she was either dealing with something, or cursing up a storm. And when Aubrey returned online, there was an aggravation to her voice that really shouldn’t be doing things to Stacie’s libido.

“Well, we’re so kicking Beca out as soon as we can.” Aubrey grumbled, and Stacie just barely kept herself from rolling her eyes because Aubrey made that threat every two weeks, before Aubrey continued, “the midget thinks she tripped something on their end, so unless you suddenly developed the power of teleportation, you need to get out, babe.”

 _In these heels?_ Stacie inwardly cursed, because she really didn’t want to do anything drastic like, oh, taking off her shoes so she can sprint. Or climb. Or really anything that involved footwork, because she wasn’t going to do any of those things with her current choice of footwear, nor was she inclined to remove said footwear because she liked her shoes.

“You know you can afford to buy another pair.” Aubrey mused, showing just how intimate her knowledge of her girlfriend was.

Stacie had already excused herself from her current group, and glanced towards the exit. “I'm—”

“There you are.”

 _Shit_.

“Shit.” Aubrey verbally echoed what Stacie just screamed in her head.

Their host smiled at her, and Stacie was going to admit, he was kind of handsome, and probably why he continued to find sad suckers to invest in who-knows-what. Any other time Stacie would be glad to sit with him and try to figure out how he ticked, and figure out a long-term plan of how to get him to stop being such a major douche, but time was of the essence and she had a feeling Beca had downplayed their emergency. “Leaving so soon?”

Play it coy, or—

“It’s like she’s fucking _trying_ to trip as many traps as she can.” Aubrey muttered, obviously talking about Beca, and even though Stacie didn’t know if Beca was tripping physical, or technological traps, Stacie knew she was running out of time.

Stacie smiled at her host. “I’d love to stay, but it’s getting late and I have an audition in the morning.”

She practically felt his hand jerk away from the small of her back. “You’re an actress?”

She made an exaggerated display of crossing her fingers. “That’s what the audition is for.”

Because as Aubrey once told her, old money frowned upon the nouveau riche, but they especially disliked actors. Especially _struggling_ actors.

“My friend let me have his invitation for tonight, isn’t he great?” Stacie went on.

“And who is that?” He asked, not at all subtly.

Stacie laughed, as if oblivious to his discomfort. “James is such a doll, I love him, and this was really great.” She smiled. “The movie’s, well, the studio’s only really produced straight to video it’s practically an indie, and the role is this—”

“Oh, I think someone needs me.” He said quickly, because struggling actress plus a small studio movie just spelled disaster for his social ascent. “Have to go.”

“Wish me luck?”

He smiled faintly, even as he all but power-walked away. “Luck.”

Stacie kept up the façade for a beat or two longer before she, too, power-walked to the exit. “Douche.”

She hoped all his friends named James appreciated what she’d just done for their karmic cycle.

“I don’t know, I think that was some grade-A acting.” Aubrey mused, breaking into Stacie’s thoughts as she left the mansion. “That deserved at least a Golden Globe.”

“Lady Gaga has a Golden Globe.” Stacie noted.

“My point.”

“Fuck you.” Stacie said, smiling brightly when she saw Lilly, dressed as a valet, drive up with the ridiculously small and very expensive sports car she had bought off what was so affectionately called “the secondhand market”.

“If you’re wearing that dress, I might even return the favor.” Aubrey replied.

“You like it?” Stacie teased. Her stepping in as Plan B had been a last-minute decision, so Aubrey hadn’t known about the dress, or its purchase, until she’d appeared in the mansion.

“Worth every penny.”

A short drive away from the mansion, on an isolated stretch of land just off the main road, Stacie slowed down driving, barely stopping for long as the passenger side door opened and Aubrey handed the set of art tubes over to the waiting Jessica, before she stepped in and occupied the seat.

Stacie glanced over, smirking at Aubrey as they left the site of the surveillance van. “Nice touch, not telling me about Lilly.”

“What, and ruin the surprise?” Aubrey replied, smiling. She raked her gaze over Stacie, and mused, “That dress is amazing.”

“I know.” Stacie smiled. “What’s Lilly’s extraction?”

“She was attached to your car on her luge board. She stayed behind with Jessica.” Aubrey told her, lowering her window and closing her eyes as she felt the cool night air.

Stacie frowned. “Wait, what?”

Aubrey opened her eyes and glanced at Stacie, who looked at her in confusion. Instead of answering, Aubrey shook her head, because she honestly had no words for why some members of her team liked to take liberties with the plan, but sometimes, especially in Lilly’s case, the improvisation worked to their advantage.

Stacie glanced over at Aubrey, who continued to gaze at her. It said plenty that Aubrey wasn’t even making a comment about watching the road or anything similar. “How’s Chloe’s team?”

Aubrey rolled her eyes. “We’re never letting Beca get involved on the actual op ever again.”

Stacie gave a soft murmur of assent. “For someone who excels in planning, she doesn’t pull off the actual very well.” She glanced at the empty road ahead of them, and turned back to Aubrey. “I guess that means they got out?”

“Ashley found a workaround to override the stuff Beca tripped. Same story as us: didn’t get the full load, but they got enough.”

“And the products of our labor?”

“Fat Amy and Bumper have plans in place.” Aubrey replied.

Stacie nodded approvingly, glanced at the road, and then back at Aubrey. “We’re not meeting up with them, are we?”

“The heat’s gonna be bad on this one, I told everyone to leave as soon as they can with what they can.” Aubrey admitted.

Which was unfortunate, since they had so far managed to carry out and pull off more than a handful of heists with nary a blip in the radar, and just because some millionaire dirtbag got on both Aubrey’s _and_ Chloe’s bad side, their identities had to be burned, if only for a little while.

“Art students in Spain?” Stacie suggested.

Aubrey laughed, and leaned over to kiss the corner of Stacie’s mouth. “Let’s not be DEBS rip-offs.”

“It’s not like there’s a lot of role models for us to go by.” Stacie defended hotly.

Aubrey chuckled, and placed one last quick kiss to Stacie’s cheek before she pulled back to settle comfortably in her seat. “You just keep driving.”


	13. Trust

"So this is where you go to hide."

Aubrey looked up from the textbook she was reading when someone took the seat opposite from her, but immediately looked back down once she saw who it was. "No."

"No?" Stacie repeated, confused. It had taken her some time, after over two weeks of staking out Aubrey's usual recreational spaces, to finally track down Aubrey to the study room of Business and Economics building of Barden University. She had known from the start that Aubrey wouldn't make it easy – she just wasn't hardwired for things to be _easy_ – and the fact that Aubrey had three years of knowledge of the Barden University campus had been a problem. But someone in Aubrey's circle of friends had finally caved, which was how they ended up in the same room after nearly three weeks.

"We're not doing this." Aubrey said simply, not looking up from her reading. "Leave me alone, Stacie."

Okay, that stung. She had known that Aubrey was angry at her, and she had expected more of a fight, but she hadn't expected an outright dismissal. "Aubrey."

"I don't really have anything to say to you, Stacie." Aubrey said simply. "So you can leave now."

"Really? You have _nothing_ you want to say to me?" Stacie pressed.

"None that you don't already know, and definitely not anything civil society would deem appropriate to say out loud to another person." Aubrey said firmly.

"I did what I thought would be best for the Bellas." Stacie insisted, ignoring Aubrey's dismissal.

Aubrey sighed, and looked up at her. "And you got what you wanted. Congratulations. Why are you still here?"

"Because the Bellas need you!"

"That obviously isn't true, since they all took _your_ cue and followed _your_ lead." Aubrey countered.

Stacie winced, not knowing how to defend herself or the other freshman Bellas on that point.

Aubrey noticed. "As I said: there's nothing to talk about."

"Aubrey, please." As a last ditch effort, she softly added, " _I_ need you."

Aubrey shook her head, either in denial or an absolute refusal to address that last statement, and returned her attention to her book, clearly decided that the conversation was over.

Stacie recognized the dismissal – it was hard not to – however she stayed where she was, looking at Aubrey, taking in her very presence.

And giving herself the opportunity to regret the things she had done, for her and Aubrey to end up here, and for Aubrey to treat her this way.

It wasn't always like this, after all. From the moment they had met there had been something electric between them, enough so that Stacie had auditioned for the Barden Bellas despite their apparent sinking reputation, and ever since she'd been accepted into the group, she and Aubrey had slowly started getting to know each other.

Very, very well.

What had started out as a mild flirtation and budding friendship had quickly turned romantic, and Stacie had even stopped her tendency towards casual sex to adhere more closely to the relationship status Aubrey evidently preferred. Their friendship had proven that Aubrey was very different from how she purported herself to be with the Barden Bellas, and for a little while Stacie had ignored the way the older girl acted in rehearsals and the way her focus was so narrow that she failed – or refused – to acknowledge any ideas or opinions not brought down from Bellas past.

But after she had announced that their semifinals set list would be a repeat of the yawn-fest that was the The Sign/Eternal Flame/Turn the Beat Around medley, Stacie couldn't turn a blind eye to her girlfriend's tyranny anymore, especially since they had already nearly lost in the previous round with the exact same set. In a move that would have impressed any self-respecting person with any kind of ambition, Stacie had gotten the other new Bellas together to create a set that would be better, if at least a little more competitive, than the set handed down from the previous year's Bella captain. Beca, an aspiring DJ with an ear for mixing, had been quick to create a set that, oddly, adhered to the existing Barden Bella rules regarding song selection – it had taken some convincing, since she knew Aubrey already disliked her a great deal, and Beca wasn't keen on doing anything to potentially annoy Chloe, but she did it anyway. Jessica and Cynthia Rose broke it down for the girls' individual parts, and for a week they had sneaked in what time they had to rehearse the piece, so that when they presented it to Aubrey and Chloe, they could hopefully see the potential, and they wouldn't have to start from scratch.

The Bellas' co-captains had reacted exactly as they had hoped. They agreed that the song would be something new, and that it would be their set in the semis. Aubrey and Chloe spent the rest of that afternoon's rehearsal polishing the set, and had started discussions on the fact that they couldn't perform the set in their established Bella uniforms, and choreography would have to be ramped up to meet the new, more modern sound. The two girls had told the new members to give them the night to finish discussions, while the rest of the girls had gone out to celebrate and party.

The next day Aubrey had quit. And broke up with Stacie.

Stacie still wasn't sure what had been a more shocking turn of events.

Because everyone knew how much Aubrey loved the Barden Bellas - she refused to break tradition out of that love and devotion, for crying out loud - and the fact that she could choose to walk away had been a surprise to everyone. Chloe, who was more than Aubrey's co-captain, she was her best friend and the person Aubrey was closest to in the world, had obviously been made aware of the decision, and had ruled over that afternoon's rehearsals in a way that had made everyone realize that the their two captains had been playing good-cop, bad-cop; and with Aubrey's departure, Chloe was letting her bad cop take the reins.

Stacie's phone calls had gone unanswered, text and email weren't being responded to, and the places Aubrey had shown her, the places both in and around campus that Aubrey had claimed her favorite spaces, the places that had slowly been becoming _theirs_ , were suddenly empty of Aubrey's presence.

When she had confronted Chloe about it, the older girl had looked at her with a grave look.

_"Well, what did you think as going to happen?"_

_"Not this!" Stacie exclaimed. "I just wanted to help!"_

_"Have you considered maybe you could have just asked her?"_

_"You've seen how she is! She shoots down Beca all the time."_

_"You're not Beca." Chloe pointed out._

_"I just wanted—"_

_"We know what you wanted. I do, and so does she. But there were a million other ways you could have done this. You could have told her about it, at any time when you were putting it together." Chloe snapped, in a manner that not only startled Stacie, but also made clear to her that despite their seemingly-clashing personalities, there was a reason why Aubrey and Chloe were best friends and have been for so long. And then Chloe went in for the kill. "She didn't quit because she doesn't believe in the Bellas anymore, Stacie. She quit because she can't stand_ you _."_

It had been mean, and Stacie had no doubt that Chloe had known it, but she could understand where Chloe was coming from: Aubrey had left for creative differences, and while Chloe had elected (or had been forced) to stay, she would always put her friends first, and for all of Chloe's fondness and affection for the new Barden Bellas, Aubrey had been first, and how Chloe felt about the new Bellas, even how she felt about _Beca_ , it was nothing compared to how she felt about someone after four years of friendship.

And Stacie - maybe unwittingly, but it still happened - had broken Aubrey's heart. She had assumed Aubrey's loyalty to the Bellas, and her affection for _her_ , would be enough to gloss over how she had gone behind the older girl's back, and she had been wrong.

But they were both still in the same room, after weeks of Stacie not even seeing Aubrey, and despite whatever dismissal Aubrey was doling out, she hadn't stormed out of the room, or had Stacie kicked out. Stacie didn't know when she would have another opportunity to say what she needed to, so even if Aubrey wasn't going to engage her, Stacie still needed Aubrey to know.

"I'm sorry." Stacie said softly, choosing the words of the rest of her apology carefully. "I'd apologize about all of it, but I don't regret wanting to help the Bellas. But I'm sorry I went behind your back to do it. I wanted it to be a surprise, but looking back on it, and looking at it from your perspective, I get it, I get why you hate me for it, because Chloe's right, I could have clued you in at any point between making the decision and showing it to you and Chloe. Because I love the Bellas, and I did what I did because of that, but these past few weeks, it's… I love you more. And I know it looks like I chose the Bellas over you, but I know how much the Bellas mean to you, and I thought, if I could just—"

"Stop."

And, stupidly, Stacie did. She bit her lip to stem the rest of her apology, but not wanting to interrupt what Aubrey had to say.

Except Aubrey didn't say anything. She didn't look at Stacie, she didn't move. The only sign of life was the tight grip she had on the pen in her hand.

The pen breaking in her hand broke the frozen tableau, the sharp sound startling Stacie, while Aubrey just cursed under her breath while being simultaneously relieved it had just been one of the cheap plastic pens she had picked up from a lecture she had attended earlier that day.

She spared Stacie a glance before she attended to gathering the broken parts of her pen. "I don't hate you."

"But—"

Aubrey looked away briefly, before turning back to Stacie with a gravity that Stacie couldn't get a clear read on. "Let's be clear on that: I don't hate you. I hate what you did, I hate that you thought you had to take it that far, I hate that you didn't trust me enough to feel like you had to go behind my back to make it count. But those are things you did, and things you made me feel. But you? I don't hate you.

"This isn't just on you, Stacie." Aubrey admitted, giving her a sad half-smile. "Nobody's saying it, but the fact of the matter is, you felt you couldn't talk to me. I gave you a reason to try and hide something from me and I'm sorry about that. I'm sorry you felt that way, that I made you feel that way. And maybe you meant it to be a surprise, maybe you wanted to see it through first… but this was about the Bellas, this was about a group that we both belonged to, and we didn't trust each other enough to be honest about it. I should have been more willing to listen to everyone else. If not to Beca, or Jessica, or Fat Amy, then you or Chloe; it says a lot that almost everyone chose to keep the secret from me, and I can't be a good leader if nobody knows how to tell me something I needed to hear, or if I can't listen to the people I should be listening to. The whole… set, the songs, the set list: I can't even be mad about it, I can almost admire the chutzpah involved. But the fact is, it happened because everyone couldn't get me to pay attention to the fact that there was a problem. So this is better, because a group is only as good as its leader, and I wasn't the leader the Bellas should have.

"But I didn't quit the Bellas because I wanted to. I quit because I had to. And I quit because of you, but contrary to what Chloe might have said because she's my best friend and hurting the girl who hurt me is a top priority right now, it's not because I can't stand you." Aubrey went on to explain, her voice far more quiet than Stacie had ever heard it. "I quit because you broke my trust, and it hurts to look at you. Because I love you, and you didn't think twice about betraying my trust the way you did, and I can't stand being around you because I honestly don't know how far you'll take that breach of trust next time." She paused, and looked down, and when she looked back up Stacie felt her heart stop at the sight of how Aubrey's eyes glistened with tears. "So I need you to stop. And I need you to leave me alone. Because given half a reason I'd take you back, and I can't - I _shouldn't_ \- do that if I don't trust you." She opened her mouth, as if to say more, but thought the better of it, and instead gathered her things and left without another word.

Stacie gave her a full five-minute head start, and then left the study room, hoping to get to the Bellas' house before she started crying.

Because it wasn't just a break, or some time apart to sort themselves out emotionally. It had been a breach of trust, no matter how well-intentioned it had been, and because their relationship had been so young, Stacie hadn't known - and Aubrey hadn't told her - how sensitive Aubrey was about trusting people, or that there were just some things Stacie should know about handling the trust issue in a relationship. And now they were facing the consequences.

But that wasn't the worst part.

It had been the first time they had each said 'I love you', and Stacie was starting to understand why those three words could be so heartbreaking to hear.


	14. Yoga

One week, until she left Georgia for good. Leave Barden, and leave the house she had shared with Chloe.

 

Aubrey sipped her cup of coffee, standing in the kitchen of the place she had called home for the past two years. This kitchen had seen some of her best and worst moments -- because she was awesome in the kitchen, and because this was usually where Chloe cornered her to give her a piece of her mind -- and realized, not for the first time, that this place, this house she had shared with Chloe, was the safest space she had ever known. Chloe might yell at her here, confront her about whatever Aubrey had most recently done to lose friends and alienate people, making Chloe clean up her mess, but this was also where Chloe would patiently tell her that everyone made mistakes, and explain to Aubrey what she had to do to fix her mess.

 

She could fuck up beyond belief in this house, and not worry about the fact that she had no packed bag waiting under her bed.

 

She had woken up one day to find Chloe, she of absolutely no boundaries, unpacking that suitcase, declaring that she didn't feel comfortable settling into their recently-leased apartment if Aubrey had a packed suitcase on standby. Aubrey didn't know if Chloe had known what she was doing, the symbolism and enormity of what it meant to unpack that suitcase - and she still didn't know now - but that had been the moment that Aubrey realized how much she loved the girl who had taken her under her wing their freshman year.

 

Because, yes, Aubrey might be the controlling one, the one who needed to dictate what had to be done and couldn't rest until her directions were followed, but she would have fallen off the rails a long time ago if it hadn't been for Chloe.

 

But as much as she loved and respected Chloe, she still rather enjoyed having the space all to herself and Stacie, and briefly considered the question of how it was possible she and Stacie had not yet defiled the kitchen counter.

 

"Honey! I'm home!"

 

Answer.

 

Aubrey grinned broadly as she placed her cup on the table and walked to the entryway, engulfing her best friend in a tight hug as soon as Chloe dropped her overnight bag to the floor.

 

She was going to miss Chloe's hugs, she realized, as the redhead squeezed her gently, neither of them willing to release the other just yet. When the hug went from an exuberant greeting to desperate melancholy, she couldn't tell, but she did not want to let go.

 

"Hey, it's OK." Chloe reassured her, rubbing the blonde's back. "It's OK. You're gonna be OK."

 

She hadn't even realized how much she had needed the reassurance - for what, she couldn't be sure, but she needed it - until Chloe whispered it.

 

Chloe decided it was just better to let Aubrey hug it out, and held the blonde closely until Aubrey felt ready to let go. She heard steps on the stairs, and smiled when she saw a familiar long-legged form descend the steps. "Hey, Stacie."

 

Stacie waved hello and went directly to the kitchen, reemerging a moment later with a cup of coffee. A little more awake now, she regarded the two older girls. "That looks cozy."

 

"I think she's missed me," Chloe joked, before turning to whisper in Aubrey's ear.

 

Stacie watched them in amusement, remembering the day Fat Amy had come up with the decision to start calling Chloe and Aubrey "Mom and Dad". It had started a mini betting pool about whether or not they may have ever actually dated, and then the betting pool on whether one or both of them ever bat for the other team. Chloe had gotten wind of the bets, and had made it known that no, she and Aubrey were most definitely not romantic but she won't speak for Aubrey, but she definitely played fast and loose with people she was attracted to. (Nobody had missed the significant glance she had thrown at Beca... except Beca).

 

But it had nagged Stacie, especially once she realized she had a crush on Aubrey, just how attached the two girls were to each other. And, well, sex wasn't dating, it didn't even have to be romantic, and it had been nothing short of profound relief to hear it from Aubrey herself that she had no romantic interest in Chloe whatsoever. Aubrey never actually stated how she labelled her sexuality, but Stacie had realized from context clues - the pronoun game, the generic "people" she would be interested in - that Aubrey wasn't as straight as people thought.

 

And the labeling part probably had a lot to do with the fact that the last thing Aubrey would need was to give her father another reason to figure her to be a major disappointment.

 

Stacie had learned, a long time ago, long before she and Aubrey actually started dating, that she would have to pick and choose her battles when it came to Aubrey. There were fights that she could win (spending time with her to take a break from hours and hours of studying) and battles she would never come out of unscathed (the innocent stray thought of wondering if Aubrey's parents would like her if they knew they were having sex regularly).

 

Stacie shuddered at the memory of that episode, of Aubrey just easing away from her slowly, putting as much distance between them as possible, as if her parents would be walking through her bedroom door at any moment and they could pass off their shared bedspace as just friends. Aubrey hadn't touched her for a whole day after that; the distance would have lasted longer, Stacie was sure, if Aubrey hadn't received the confirmation of graduating Magna Cum Laude and had needed to celebrate.

 

And celebrate they had. Thoroughly. Extensively. Stacie had struggled to focus on her classes the next day, but somehow had managed.

 

"It's still weird when I realize the sex haze Stacie's in is because of you." Chloe noted to Aubrey, as they stood together and watched Stacie gaze off to the distance, a dreamy smile on her lips.

 

"It's a miracle to me, too." Aubrey admitted. "She's coming with me for the ride up."

 

"To Boston?"

 

"I think that's her plan." Aubrey replied. "I was going to drop her off at home."

 

"Philly?"

 

"Yup."

 

"That's... a detour." Chloe noted.

 

"Yeah, but..." Aubrey smiled when Stacie visibly snapped out of her daze and moved closer to them. "If I just drop her off at a bus or train station I'm afraid she's gonna show up in Boston before I do, and she doesn't know the house address where I'll be staying."

 

Stacie frowned, as if only now realizing that fact. "You're right, I don't."

 

"Because you'll take the bus or train and show up there without my permission." Aubrey told her.

 

"And if she ever sees you in her dorm room she'll probably never let you leave." Chloe added for Stacie's benefit.

 

"That's what I said!" Aubrey beamed at Chloe, and they grinned at each other, amused at the congruency of their thoughts.

 

Stacie rolled her eyes. "You're both such nerds."

 

"Said the actual Maths and Sciences major." Chloe retorted. "So what's the plan today?"

 

"We were thinking we're gonna check out the Bella house you got assigned." Aubrey told her.

 

Chloe brightened. "Let's do that!" She paused. "Wait, you said you were gonna do that when you went to get your transcripts and stuff."

 

Aubrey quickly averted her eyes, avoiding Chloe's inquiring gaze. Stacie couldn't help but smile brightly at Chloe.

 

"Seriously, have you two just been in bed this whole time since classes ended?" Chloe asked.

 

"Not the whole time." Aubrey said weakly in defense.

 

"Sometimes we even make it to the bathroom for a shower." Stacie added. "And the couch once or twice. Or several times in a day."

 

Chloe quickly removed her hand from said furniture, as if burned. "Yeah... that couch isn't coming with us to the new house." She regarded the duo gravely for a minute, but was ultimately unable to stop from beaming happily at her friends. "Look at you two, having sex marathons! Who would have thought?" She turned to Aubrey. "See how nice it is when you can let all your pent-up aggression loose on something enjoyable than trying to meditate them away?"

 

"Yoga is more than just--"

 

"Wait, you do yoga?" Stacie asked suddenly, interrupting, as she turned to stare at Aubrey.

 

"Can you think of anyone who needs more calm in her life than Aubrey?" Chloe joked.

 

"Pilates more than yoga lately," Aubrey answered, shooting Chloe a glare.

 

Stacie focused on Aubrey. "How can I not know that you do yoga?"

 

"It's never come up?" Aubrey guessed.

 

"I thought your remarkable breath control and focus were from your anxiety and the singing -- and the hunter and I both thank you -- but," Stacie added, "we could be doing more tantric sex and you never brought up you do yoga?"

 

"You realize tantric sex usually includes orgasm denial, right?" Aubrey returned.

 

"Yeah, but then you get the super-orga---" Chloe caught the look Aubrey gave her. "Okay, not my conversation. I'll just sit..." She glanced at the couch, and made a face when she remembered it was no longer innocent and pure. "Somewhere else. Have you defiled the kitchen?"

 

"Sadly, no." Aubrey told her.

 

"Yay." Chloe quipped, patting her back in a silent show of support as she moved past the couple and disappeared into the kitchen. Once a safe distance away from her friends, Chloe opened the refrigerator door to hide her face, giggling uncontrollably at what had just happened.

 

How she could never have anticipated that _Aubrey Posen_ would be in a relationship where she would be simultaneously be accused of both providing too many orgasms and _not enough_ orgasms, Chloe would never know.

 

 

 

 


	15. Book Store

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Except I was just at a book store/coffee shop, and it became more coffee shop than anything. Whoops.

_Tap, tap._

Aubrey paused, frowned, and tried to reconcile what the odd but familiar sound could be, the sound that had interrupted her quiet afternoon cup of coffee. She looked up from her book, and glanced at the neighboring tables, and when nothing seemed out of the ordinary there, looked past, towards the main area that was the book store that housed the coffee shop which made her favorite drink.

_Tap, tap._

Aubrey turned to the window beside her, and nearly jumped away, startled, when she saw Stacie, one of her former Barden Bella teammates, standing outside the shop. Having successfully gained Aubrey's attention, Stacie waved, smiling, and in an automatic response, Aubrey smiled back, returning the wave.

Obviously taking that as an invitation, Stacie went towards the door and went inside, taking a moment to regard her surroundings before sighting Aubrey by the window, and immediately making her way there.

More out of instinct and years of social upbringing, Aubrey immediately stood up, welcoming the hug Stacie gave her, as if they were closer friends than they once had been, and despite the fact that years have passed since they last saw each other.

Once they parted, Aubrey returned to her seat, while Stacie occupied the chair across from Aubrey, placing her purse behind her on the seat and the shopping bag she was carrying on the floor.

Stacie smiled broadly, taking in her former Bella captain, and shook her head. "I don't even know where to start."

Aubrey smiled back. "I thought you went West with most of the other Bellas."

Stacie rolled her eyes. "I did, for a little while. But we don't all have Fat Amy's bank account and Beca's aspirations. And when I got accepted to attend school here, it was kind of the obvious move to make."

Aubrey's smile faded somewhat, because Chloe was in LA with a few of the other Bellas, and she hadn't mentioned Stacie moving back east. "When was this?"

"I don't know," Stacie scrunched up her face in thought, and shrugged. "Two, three years ago?"

She was going to have to call Chloe and have words, because "I've been here for two years."

"What? No way." Stacie frowned at her. "Does Chloe know?"

"I'm pretty sure I told her." Aubrey assured the younger woman.

Stacie's frown deepened, but further examination of Chloe's neglect to inform either of her friends of the other's presence in the same area was interrupted when a waiter dropped by their table to replace Aubrey's cup of coffee with new one before Aubrey requested a muffin, and a menu for Stacie. Once he left, Stacie smiled at the blonde. "You must be here pretty often."

"Yeah," Aubrey smiled, a little embarrassed, because she knew the different implications of having a favorite coffee shop, of being a regular enough to be on a first name basis with the staff and them knowing her drink order enough to replace an old cup without requesting for it. And she was sure it didn't help that her choice of venue also served as a small, independently-run book store. "I found it a few weeks after I first got here."

"It's nice." Stacie observed.

"Yeah, it's a nice change of pace from all the reading I have to do."

Stacie quirked an eyebrow in inquiry.

"Law School." Aubrey explained.

"Seriously, how have we been in the same area and not run into each other?" Stacie complained. "To think for two years we might as well have been catching the same colds, or hating the same bike messenger who speeds by puddles."

Aubrey shrugged. "I've been swamped with reading material and drowning in coffee."

"I know that feeling." Stacie agreed. She leaned forward, and looked closely at Aubrey. "But what happened to The Lodge? You looked pretty okay when we saw you there before Worlds."

"I was." Aubrey was quick to reassure. "I mean, yeah, that was fun, and a surprisingly good investment, but long-term?" She shook her head.

"No?"

Aubrey smiled wryly. "I really like sleeping in sometimes."

Stacie laughed. "And you can't at a retreat?"

"I really can't." Aubrey admitted. "I mean, there are few things more likely to make you miserable than trying to get out of bed when it's a rainy day outside. And knowing you'll have to deal with a muddied trail and a round at the mud pit."

Stacie lifted an eyebrow, amused. That kind of candor was not something she'd ever thought to expect from her former a cappella team captain. "I'll take your word on that second part."

Aubrey shook her head at the memory of days similar to what she had just described.

"But I'll keep that first part in mind and pick it up later." Stacie added.

Aubrey paused, and returned her focus on Stacie, tilting her head questioningly.

Stacie winked at her, smiling mischievously, making Aubrey shake her head in amusement in response.

The waiter returned with a menu for Stacie at that moment, placing the warmed muffin on the table between them. Stacie took a cursory glance over the menu before placing an order, which the waiter immediately took to the counter.

While they waited for Stacie's drink order to arrive, they succumbed to a momentary silence, one not borne out of awkwardness or discomfort; instead it was the silence of companionship, not needing to fill the space between them with words, comfortable just being around each other.

It was a situation that hadn't happened while they had been in Barden together, first due to Aubrey's grating persona as the Barden Bellas' team captain, and then primarily due to their differing social circles. Aubrey had been graduating at the time, and kept to a few select friends, either hanging out with Chloe, her best friend and Bella co-captain, or other people from her classes. Stacie, for her part, had hung out mostly with the other freshman Bellas, or with the wide variety of admirers she'd had through her years in Barden. The few times they'd hung out socially had been with the other Bellas, and in retrospect, while they had gravitated towards each other during those times, they hadn't really spent much time alone together.

After Aubrey had graduated, she had lost contact with most of the remaining Bellas, with the exceptions of Chloe, who hadn't graduated with her because of failing marks on two subjects, and Beca, who had replaced Aubrey as Chloe's co-captain; but Aubrey occasionally joined them at a few events, like Thanksgiving or Spring Break, and showed up at their victory parties after each ICCA win. Stacie didn't know how Aubrey had ended up working at The Lodge at Fallen Leaves, a corporate retreat in the middle of the woods, but Aubrey had invited the Bellas over when they had been at their breaking point during Stacie's final year in Barden, and as she'd earlier noted, Aubrey had looked happy and content at the time.

That retreat had also reminded Stacie of her attraction towards her former team captain, an attraction she hadn't allowed herself to entertain when Aubrey had been in Barden, knowing it could ruin the existing dynamics of the Bellas. In the succeeding years, as she'd admired the way Aubrey was flourishing post-graduation, Stacie had liked the way Aubrey regarded her as an equal, the ease they had around each other, and even if Aubrey only showed up on a recurring basis around Barden at the time, Stacie hadn't wanted to risk their friendship by seducing Aubrey, unsure if her advances would have been rebuffed, while also being unsure what would have happened afterwards if she had succeeded.

When Stacie's order arrived, they resumed talking, the rest of the afternoon passing quickly as they caught up, conversation flowing freely, as if they had always had such an intimate friendship; talking as if the years in between, the years when they hadn't been in each other's lives, didn't matter.

Aubrey's phone indicating a message was the needle that burst their bubble. After checking her phone and reading the message, Aubrey sighed.

Stacie smiled sadly, disappointed. "You have to go?"

"I'm meeting friends for dinner." Aubrey admitted. She sighed again, and smiled faintly at Stacie. "You should give me your number, so we can do this again."

Wordlessly, Stacie held out her hand for Aubrey's phone, which she immediately handed over, and let Stacie type in her own number. She extracted her own phone from her purse, and after dialing it from Aubrey's phone, showed the screen to prove she'd typed in the correct number.

After Aubrey paid for their bill, waving off Stacie's offer to pay for her half, they left the book store/coffee shop together, stopping just outside the door. Aubrey pointed to her right. "I'm going this way."

Stacie smiled wryly, and indicated the opposite direction. "I guess this is goodbye."

"I guess." Aubrey agreed, and stepped closer to Stacie, the two of them sharing one last quick hug before Aubrey stepped back. "It was really good seeing you, Stacie."

"Same colds." Stacie noted dryly.

Aubrey laughed, and nodded. "I'll look out for your bike messenger and hate him for you."

Stacie laughed as well, and waved goodbye before they both turned to leave.

Stacie was almost at the corner when she remembered her shopping bag, and did an about face back towards the book store. She was admittedly disappointed to see Aubrey was no longer on the same street, or that the blonde hadn't gone the romantic comedy route and turned back to convince her they were meant to be together, or something. She returned to the shop, gratefully retrieving her bag from the counter, before once again leaving the store, only to run into Aubrey.

Who was heading towards the shop.

From the opposite direction from which she had earlier been heading.

Stacie frowned, confused. "Were you following me?"

Aubrey furrowed her brow, taking in where Stacie was emerging from. "Why are you back here?"

"I forgot my bag." Stacie slightly lifted said shopping bag in reminder.

"Oh. Right. Well, I thought I was, but—" Aubrey stopped suddenly, as if catching herself, and shook her head. "Never mind. You're here. Good. That's good."

Stacie tilted her head questioningly.

"I'm about to ask you out, and—"

"When?"

Aubrey paused, even as she started to smile. "Sorry?"

"Yes, let's go out. When?"

Aubrey's smile broadened. "Right now?"

Stacie's expression conveyed her puzzlement. "Weren't you meeting your friends-?"

"Yeah, but they'll hate me more if I let you leave without at least asking you out," Aubrey admitted, before she looked inquiringly at Stacie. "Dinner? You and me and Italian food?"

Stacie smiled back. "I'd love to."


	16. Notebook

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With apologies to The Adjustment Bureau.

That can’t be right.

You frown at your notebook, the book of Aubrey Posen’s life, and you honestly cannot believe what’s happening.

For years – _years_ – you had it easy. Aubrey was a cookie-cutter blond/only child/upper-middle class girl, and she did everything one would expect with her upbringing: straight-A’s, petty rebellions, cotillions, debutante balls, next-door-neighbor boyfriend, decent friends. She graduated top of her class, and moved on to college, majored in something ordinary, and the only major conflict in her life had been the choice between Business School and Law School. And she joined a college all-girls a cappella group, but that made sense, since she had been in her high school’s choir.

Aubrey's… shall we say, unfortunate situation during the final of the a cappella tournament during her third year in college had been a necessary evil, to test her perseverance and strength of character, supposedly it was going to help her build a stronger sense of self, and appreciate her friends more.

It was during her senior year, the year she was going to graduate college and move on to bigger, better things, that the lines started diverging. Suddenly your easy time of managing Aubrey’s life went haywire, because you hadn’t realized until that point that someone’s life can veer off into so many different directions, and you were pretty sure the more time she spent with the new set of Barden Bellas, the more she was moving away from her original path. 

You don’t always know the specifics of what’s happening with her life, but you know when she’s deviating wildly from it.

So you intervened, and put the Tone Hangers at the location of the Bellas’ Regionals contest. The way you saw it, The Treblemakers would be jerks, there would be a physical altercation, and The Treblemakers would get disqualified for disorderly conduct, the Bellas move on to Semifinals, and Aubrey can continue on her merry way to fulfilling her destiny.

You hadn’t counted on Beca intervening, and you feel about her the same way Aubrey does, that the tiny girl is an annoyance that messes up perfectly well-set plans, and in the end the Bellas are just lucky not to get disqualified for the girl’s conduct, especially after getting arrested.

The notebook’s lines continue to go awry from there, lines merging and diverging… and you read the instruction manual and listened to every lecture about this, you know something’s not right about someone’s life going into so many directions. And you try to keep intervening, and occasionally it works, but it doesn’t for long.

And then everything goes back to normal the day after the Bellas lose their semifinals.

Now, you don’t know whose intervention put that high school kid on a college team, but you’ll take it, because as far as your notebook’s concerned, Aubrey’s life just went back to normal.

You figure, you just have to make sure it stays that way until she graduates college.

Except something happens and there’s suddenly a mild diversion, and you just want to throttle Aubrey because _goddamnit_.

The kid got found out – _goddamnit_ – and the Bellas are back in contention for the finals.  

You can only watch in dread as the lines start growing away from the original path the day the Bellas reconvene to prepare for finals.

But it isn’t until they win the ICCAs and Aubrey first sleeps with Stacie that you realize what has been causing the deviation this whole time.

_Stacie Conrad._

You know it’s wrong, and it goes against your very nature to think it, but your charge has a _destiny_ , and you figure between Aubrey’s ambition and the fact that Stacie isn’t very discerning with her sexual partners, their relationship is probably a fluke and won’t end well.

It isn’t a fluke.

But it doesn’t end well.

They break up hardly a year later, the dual-degree post-graduate course Aubrey’s in demanding more of her time than expected and Stacie… well, Stacie gets lonely. They agree to break up before they start hating each other and before they cause irreparable hurt towards each other.

And one day the book goes back to its original course, even though you feel bad about it and you can tell Aubrey is miserable.

When the line deviates slightly, the internship at a law firm coming later instead of sooner, you figure it’s because Aubrey doesn’t like a group of wannabe-lawyer guys she and her friends hang out with one night, but if it hadn’t been for the notebook, you wouldn’t have seen her leave of absence coming.

But you _really_ did not see The Lodge at Fallen Leaves coming.

You haven’t been paying much attention to the Barden Bellas since Aubrey graduated from college, but you regret that neglect when lines start reappearing again and you know Stacie Conrad just returned into Aubrey’s life.

Some lines fade, and others grow, but there are still several possibilities that won’t disappear, and you don’t know which one is the delayed version of Aubrey’s original line.

You hate this uncertainty, but at least Aubrey isn’t miserable anymore.

She stays at The Lodge, though, and some lines fade.

It takes her another year, but she inevitably goes back to school, this time in New York, and you’ve become… well, not quite comfortable, but more accustomed with the lines constantly changing.

And then Stacie moves to New York, and you watch lines grow again, several of them appearing overnight, and as their relationship grows, you watch one line emerge victorious from the fray, the story of Aubrey’s life growing from that line, the way it grows and flourishes.

Aubrey doesn’t quite make it to Forbes’ Top 100 Women in Power list, doesn’t become the political or financial power player the book said she would, but when you watch the lines that represent the life she’s living with Stacie and the rest of their family, and how happy she is, you think maybe she wasn’t supposed to.


	17. Red Coat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This picks up some time after the "High Society" (chapter 12) segment of this collection.

"So let me get this straight," Stacie began, looking at Fat Amy and Bumper in front of her, her mind clocking in at least several dozen different ways their plan could go dangerously wrong and the ten ways Aubrey would kill either of them just for showing up at their house unannounced, but kept her expression impassive. She gave Bumper one long discerning look before returning her attention to the girl she and their friends called Fat Amy. "There's word of a cache of Revolutionary War regalia buried nearby, but it's in a private property that is tightly guarded, and you want to get us involved in what could end up being a wild goose chase?"

"Well, when you put it like that…" Amy reluctantly admitted, and sighed. "I know it's not our usual gig, but the collectors' market is a big deal."

Stacie shook her head. "Amy, you brought Bumper along. Did you _want_ Aubrey to say no right away?"

Amy glanced beside her at her partner and fiancé, but Bumper looked nonplussed. He shrugged. "We'll split profits even, Legs."

Stacie shot him a withering glare. "Only my friends get to call me that."

"But where _is_ your better half?" Bumper continued, looking around. He frowned in distaste at their surroundings. "What are you two doing in the middle of the suburbs, anyway? Is this Aubrey's new method of laying low?"

"We moved closer to my mom while she was sick." Stacie told him flatly, making him wince and Fat Amy to hit him in the arm.

Not that his question wasn't valid, though: after their last job, where they had all but cleaned out a stockbroker/con artist of his collection of artwork and financial holdings, Aubrey, by virtue of being their de facto leader, had disbanded their group and told them to keep a low profile until the inevitable investigation blew over. She and Stacie had spent the time since indulging in their mutual love for travel and each other, blissfully ignoring calls from their friends to take part in whatever job they had lined up.

They had only returned to the country when Stacie's mother had fallen ill, and despite having been released from the hospital a few weeks ago, both Aubrey and Stacie were reluctant to leave her just yet, and while they had moved out of Stacie's family home, they had leased a house in the same neighborhood to stay within proximity of Stacie's mother.

It was the suburbs, which Stacie had longed to get out of when she'd been younger; and she and Aubrey were doing mundane things like gardening and attending neighborhood parties. It was the life neither of them ever saw for themselves, but for the moment, while they figured out their next step, it wasn't really a bad life to lead.

It was incredibly boring, don't get her wrong, but it was generally nice.

She also wasn't going to lie and say she didn't miss the thrill of a good heist. Or even just the amusement of a good lift.

But she wasn't going to get into trouble in the same area where her mother lived; her mother raised her to be better than that.

"Question," Amy piped in, before Stacie could stab Bumper with her pen – which Stacie was tempted to do, and as someone who had studied a lot of medical cases out of some kind of morbid fascination, she would know where to hit him to make it count – and motioned vaguely around the house. "Where _is_ Aubrey?"

Stacie actually wasn't sure, as Aubrey had left before daylight that morning, muttering something about flags and drum corps, promising to be home for dinner.

Which she was, a few hours after Amy and Bumper had left, and Stacie looked on with bewilderment and amusement as her significant other entered their home dressed in a reproduction of a Revolutionary War uniform and smelling of gun smoke.

They stared at each other for a moment, before Aubrey found her voice first, and shook her head. "It's a long story."

Stacie lifted an eyebrow, but acquiesced, responding with, "Bumper and Fat Amy came by today."

"During daylight and unannounced?" Aubrey asked warily, unbuttoning the red coat she wore as part of the uniform for the British contingent of the Revolutionary War. She unpinned her hair from the bun she'd held it in, and shook her hair loose. "Did they say what they want?"

Stacie found herself at a loss for words, because while she always found Aubrey hot, she had a thing for uniforms, and for some reason, all those layers on Aubrey were just making her want the blonde more. "Why are you dressed like you're going to war?"

"Reenactment." Aubrey answered with just a hint of amused exasperation. She shrugged, starting to unbutton her waistcoat. "There's supposed to be a weapon cache hidden in the property next to where they do it, which is the only thing I can guess would interest Amy and Bumper, and why they would show up at this time - and don't worry, I just wanted to see if it's real - and the only way to check it out was—" Aubrey was cut off by Stacie suddenly covering the distance between them and appearing in front of her, hands clutching the front of the red coat. She lifted an eyebrow, knowing exactly how Stacie felt about uniforms. "Hey."

Stacie smirked, even as she leaned in to press a kiss to Aubrey's lips. " _Hey_."

They shared a series of kisses before Aubrey asked, "Did you hear the part about a cache?"

"Don't care." Stacie said dismissively, slipping her hands under the coat and trailing them over the front of Aubrey's waistcoat. "How'd you get them to let a girl wear a uniform?"

"I'm an awesome shot."

"Mmm. Explains the smell."

"Boys with their toys."

"And women in uniform." Stacie's voice conveyed her appreciation.

Aubrey smiled, allowing Stacie to maneuver her towards their couch. "Like the uniform?"

Stacie gave the uniform a long, lingering once-over, before returning her gaze to meet Aubrey's. "You know I do."

"We have to be careful, I still need to wear this next week for the actual thing." Aubrey warned.

Stacie bit her lower lip, and questioned, "You're wearing this again?"

Aubrey laughed softly, brushing her lips against Stacie's. "Yes."

"Good." Stacie said definitively, her gaze once more flickered over the uniform, unsure on where to start in undressing Aubrey.  She pushed the coat off Aubrey's shoulders, letting the blonde shrug it off and tossing it aside to the nearest chair before pushing Aubrey down to sit on the couch, and straddling the blonde's lap. "Because I don't know how to say no to this."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, we all know where that last line came from.


	18. Organic Juice

It wasn't a date, and both Aubrey and Stacie had made sure to be very clear on that, even if their friends all insisted otherwise.

(Not in front of the other's faces, obviously, because the girls all still feared Aubrey and Chloe knew better than to tease Aubrey about her crush in front of Stacie and the other Barden Bellas.)

They've hung out before, but those were outings with the entire group of Barden Bellas, and that usually meant Aubrey had to act as their manager and Bella wrangler, making sure everyone stayed out of trouble and generally being the most boring person in the room. This was their first opportunity to actually spend time together with just the two of them, and Stacie had to admit, Aubrey wasn't so bad, once she stepped away from her role as the Bellas' captain.

It was reasonably early on a Saturday morning, and so far the day was fair and lent itself to an outdoor outing, allowing the two of them to enjoy a street fair near their college campus; an outing that Aubrey had insisted should have included all of the Bellas, since one of the sponsors of the fair was a local community group that regularly hired the Bellas to perform at their events, except Chloe had reasoned that because of the hours the fair was expected to run, they should err on the side of caution and she and Aubrey could very well be the only ones to attend. Until Aubrey muttered something about it being an arts fair and caught Stacie's interest, making her offer to take Chloe's place.

Chloe owed her one.

So it wasn't a date. Technically, it was even an official Barden Bellas outing.

Not that the girls had ever stopped trying to convince Stacie otherwise.

_"It's so a date." Jessica said conclusively from her seat on Stacie's bed, while Stacie tried to find the best outfit to wear._

_"It's not a date." Stacie replied, pulling out a mini-dress but almost immediately returning it to her closet when Ashley and Beca both shook their heads._

_"You want Aubrey to ask you out, not rip the heads off the boys who'll stare at you." Beca reminded._

_"She doesn't want to date me." Stacie told her, and winced when she heard the thin thread of disappointment that lined her voice. It wasn't fact, she had no basis by which to go on, but considering how much her conversations with Aubrey tended to sound a lot like flirting, surely Aubrey would have asked her out already? Especially since Chloe had admitted that there wasn't a real code of conduct in the Bellas' bylaws about dating within their ranks, but she also admitted that was mostly because the rules hadn't been amended since the Bellas were originally formed in the sixties and same-sex relationships weren't talked about or made official in any way._

_"You're kidding, right?" Ashley asked._

_Stacie glanced at her._

_"She literally backed off on the idea of making everyone show up when you said you'll take over for Chloe." Ashley reminded._

_Stacie's protest was cut off, because, well, that was true._

_"And you're not protesting the part where you want Aubrey to ask you out." Beca pointed out._

_"It's a hang." Both Ashley and Jessica insisted from Stacie's bed._

_"It's not a hang." Stacie muttered. Even as she wished that it was._

Stacie glanced at Aubrey, who had found an artist she'd met the previous year, and smiled as she watched the older girl in a setting she was clearly comfortable in, before turning to study the small 10 x 10 plates of paintings that were displayed around the booth.

She was a Maths and Science Girl, don't get her wrong, but she was also fascinated by art and art history, and this was her first real experience since arriving in Georgia to really see what the local art community was like.

And found herself wondering what kind of art Aubrey liked.

She had no idea how or why, but after she had agreed to accompany Aubrey to the street fair, the girls had forced Chloe to concede state secrets and provide a list of things Aubrey liked to ensure that their outing would be a success… or at the very least, not a total disaster.

However, the list had been vague, and Stacie had mentally rolled her eyes at the fact that Beca had probably been too preoccupied with being in Chloe's presence to really pay attention to what the list indicated. But based on what little information Chloe had provided, one thing had been very clear.

_"She's insane." Fat Amy declared, looking over the list. "Who likes to wake up early for a morning jog?"_

_Stacie was more concerned about the part where Chloe had thought that Aubrey's morning habits were relevant information to share._

_Jessica peered over Amy's shoulder to read. "Bad pop radio, classic musicals, and black and white movies. Are we sure Aubrey isn't an investigative reporter just pretending to be a college student?"_

_"Did you see the list of books she has on her reading list?" Ashley asked, reading said list._

_Stacie idly wondered why everyone else was reading the lists when_ she _was the one who had to hang out with Aubrey that weekend._

_"Yeah, okay, this reads too much like quality hipster potential. I'll believe she doesn't want to kill the environment, but there's no way Aubrey actually believes in free trade and all-organic diets." Beca declared, handing a list to Stacie and pulling out her phone. "I'm going to ask Chloe about this."_

Except Chloe apparently hadn't been lying, and Stacie supposed she could overlook some of Aubrey's more douchey preferences in favor of the more dorky and adorable likes and favorites. And sure, she was fairly certain she could give up soda and Starbucks coffee for fruit juices and smoothies.

She seriously hoped Aubrey was the type who let people live the way they wanted, although the way she tried to micromanage her fellow Barden Bellas was an indicator that it was a futile hope.

"Hey," Aubrey called her attention, appearing by Stacie's side, "do you want to get coffee, or something?"

"Read my mind." Stacie laughed lightly. "I _am_ kind of thirsty. And hungry. Didn't you say there's food here?"

Aubrey smiled at her. "The food stalls are closer to the main square. Last time there was a stand that sells all-natural baked stuff, I hope it's back this year."

Uh oh. Chloe really hadn't been lying.

As they walked towards the main square, Aubrey's phone beeped with a message, and Stacie glanced over in time for Aubrey to frown at the message, before pocketing it and pasting on a smile for Stacie's benefit. Odd.

_Try not to be too high-strung._

Aubrey wondered if Chloe thought she was being helpful with that advice and text message reminder, and sighed when she recalled her previous conversation with Chloe about that day's outing.

_"It's first thing in the morning, so be careful your coffee order." Chloe advised._

_"We've had morning rehearsals before. She knows I can have up to three shots of espresso in my coffee." Aubrey reminded._

_"And that's an acceptable drink order first thing on a weekday morning to wake you up," Chloe agreed. "But not for a weekend when you're supposed to be relaxing."_

_Aubrey turned to her, looking completely blank._

_"Do you really want to feed your reputation as someone who's on edge 24/7?" Chloe prodded._

_"She knows we're there as representatives of the Barden Bellas, I think we'll be fine," Aubrey replied, shrugging, and turning back to her book._

_Chloe waited._

_At Chloe's count of seven, Aubrey turned back to her, features now etched with concern. "Do you really think she'll care what my drink order is?"_

_"Stacie's a laid-back girl, Aubrey. She might find you at your most high-strung a challenge and someone she'll like to take to bed, but on a regular, date-worthy basis?"_

Which, Aubrey could concede, was a good point, but maybe she shouldn't have veered so far off her usual order of cappuccino with an extra shot of espresso, and picked a chai latte, while Stacie ordered a long-winded organic juice drink.

Which was just great, her traitorous mind noted with sarcasm, because not only was she an espresso-chugging corporate lawyer in the making, but Stacie could very well save the world directly as an engineer, and indirectly by supporting organic farms and drinking all-natural, raw fruit juices.

Sure, Aubrey supported organic farms, and in an ideal world they would be the only kind of farming practice that existed, but she didn't see why their produce had to be so expensive, and astronomically so once they were put in a blender.

Drinks and homemade pretzels in hand, they continued on their way, pointing out pieces that caught their attention, and smiling and conversing politely when they came across members of the Bellas' supportive audience.

After a while, however, Stacie noticed that Aubrey only took minute sips of her drink, and asked, "what's wrong with your latte?"

Aubrey bit her lip, careful not to let her remark of "everything" slip. But she knew she needed to provide Stacie with an answer, and admitted, "chai latte isn't exactly my drink."

"Because they're glorified flavored water?" Stacie asked, teasing.

Aubrey laughed. "Because they're weak." She stopped, and rolled her eyes when she realized how that sounded. "I so did not mean it that way."

Stacie laughed as well. "I was wondering what happened to your usual double espresso." She paused, and chuckled. "Or that time you had a test after morning rehearsals and had three shots in your coffee."

Aubrey's smile transitioned from its previous mirth to something softer, as she gazed at Stacie. "You remember that?"

"I've never actually seen anyone have a triple-shot espresso with their coffee," Stacie admitted. She shrugged, looking down and saying softly, "Your heart must be one hell of a resilient muscle."

"I didn't want you to think I didn't know how to relax." Aubrey admitted, and gazed at Stacie, wanting to test the resiliency of her heart. Instead, she indicated Stacie's own drink, which was also still half-full. "What did you order, anyway?"

"Uh," Stacie paused, trying to recall, before she laughed, embarrassed. "I have no idea. Acai-cactus-truffle-goji? I don't know."

Aubrey laughed. "And how is it?"

"Like you seriously overpaid for it." Stacie admitted. "It's okay, enough for me not to spit it out, but it's not worth it."

Aubrey grinned. "Why did you order it, then?"

"Because!" Stacie shrugged. "You ordered a chai latte, I had to match that."

"Let's head back, I'm getting decent coffee." Aubrey suggested, directing them towards a nearby trash can and dumping her drink in it.

Stacie chuckled, "To think, this could have been the worst first date ever if I hadn't asked."

Aubrey stopped, and stared at her. "Wait, what?"


	19. Staycation

Oddly enough, their relationship doesn't start in Barden University in Georgia, where they first met: their relationship instead gets a kick-start in a hotel in Nevada, where they're both billeted, and it starts with the age-old adage of what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

Aubrey and Stacie are both stuck in the desert for two weeks, with Aubrey overseeing the product launch of a startup she had been a consultant on while Stacie was reviewing the hotel. They catch up their first night together, and when they admit to having been attracted to each other during their one year together as Barden Bellas, that pretty much seals the deal for them.

Aubrey had quit The Lodge after building a name and reputation when it came to personnel and workforce management, attending and finishing graduate school for the fancy paperwork near the end of her tenure at the retreat, and then became a consultant for hire to companies and businesses to pretty much do the same thing she'd been doing at The Lodge, only mostly indoors and with much less mud.

(She did not miss the mud.)

Stacie, in the meantime, had abandoned her ambition of being an expert on nuclear submarines when she realized just how much misogyny and sexism she would have to deal with just to even _get_ on one, and while she had been trying to figure out what to do next, she had taken a freelance job reviewing hotel and tour packages for a website; except she got really technical in some of her reviews and ended up getting hired by a hotel chain to review and report on their different hotels.

It was a waste of a degree in Naval Engineering, but five-star hotels paid well.

And she was basically being paid to stay in five-star hotels, so she wasn't about to complain.

Hooking up was pretty much a no-brainer for both of them, especially since they were in agreement that it was sex with no strings attached, with the added agreement that they would not be opposed to a repeat performance if and when they ever ended up in the same place again.

Which turned out to be in Texas, several weeks later.

The weeks in between their meetings shorten, and they start coordinating their schedules to end up in the same area at the same time more often.

Their affair quickly becomes a relationship that gets carried out in different hotels in different states, and when either of them gets an assignment to travel overseas, it becomes a mutual agreement that the other would take time off to take the trip with them.

They learn a lot about each other from all the traveling they do; and their fights are marked by long walks along unfamiliar streets, and local landmarks become metaphors for their relationship. It's easier to be upfront and honest, to show each other their best and worst selves, when they're surrounded by places they may never see again, that they wouldn't be haunted by, if their relationship goes south.

Stacie's fear that their relationship works for Aubrey because it's basically transient, therefore nothing really permanent, is put to rest when she first gets introduced to Aubrey's older sister at a stop Ohio, and then when she apparently passes that test, gets invited to Christmas at their parents' home.

(Which is basically a disaster, but that's mostly because Aubrey's sister uses Stacie as a distraction for when she announces her impending divorce.)

(Stacie doesn't know that Aubrey's own insecurity that their relationship is only a temporary thing for Stacie ends only when Stacie mutters to her later that night that from that point forward, Aubrey's parents can have Christmas only if her own mom gets Thanksgiving and they keep New Year's to themselves.)

In time they both start getting job offers - Aubrey gets offers from top companies to become a more permanent member of their employee roster, while Stacie gets offers from cruise liners and shipping companies, because for all intents and purposes, she _still_ graduated Naval Engineering with honors - and they're both aware that they can't be jet-setting all the time, letting their consultations and review assignments dictate where they'll go next.

Stacie won the coin toss, and she surprises them both by deciding their home base is going to be in New York, and it's almost embarrassing how easy it is for both of them to make the move, since they've both basically been living out of a suitcase, and prior to the decision of moving in together, Aubrey's things had been in storage near The Lodge, while Stacie had shipped most of her things to her mom's house.

They make Jessica, who's studying music in New York, to do their apartment-hunting for them, and when she reports back positively on one of the places Stacie had made her check out, the couple comes in to sign the documents and officially move in.

It was only supposed to be a quick stop, to buy some essentials and make the place their own, but once they're there, and occupying a space that's warm and comfortable and safe and _theirs,_ on a bed that they bought and can call their own, they both become reluctant to leave their sanctuary so soon.

Stacie, who had been tracing idle patterns on Aubrey's back following their christening of their new bed, ran the fingertips of her right hand up Aubrey's spine before tangling her fingers in blond hair. "I have some leave time."

Aubrey tilted her head away from where she'd been lavishing attention to where Stacie's neck met her shoulder, and gazed up at the brunette. "I suppose we _could_ use the vacation."

Stacie grinned, loving the fact that she and Aubrey had gotten to the point where they their conversations had their own shorthand, and used her hold on the back of Aubrey's head to pull her closer, meeting her lips with her own.

Their apartment gave them a place to call their own, but they've found a home in each other for some time now.


	20. Balloons

It hadn’t stopped raining for days. It was a steady stream of water falling from the heavens, drenching everyone and everything, creating an oppressively humid and muggy feeling in the air; the kind of rain that was made for making umbrella makers rich and the rest of the world miserable.

“Remind me again why this event wasn’t cancelled,” Beca grumbled to no one in particular as she glanced out the window of the bus and seeing nothing but rain, visibility nearly zero. She crossed her arms in front of her and sank back in her seat, sulking.

Chloe, who knew Aubrey had the same reservations Beca did, and upon making the observation that Beca’s oversized jacket and rain boots dwarfed her frame and made her look like a child, cut in before Aubrey could undoubtedly make a comment on the same observation, “It’ll clear up. Weather forecast says sunny.” She ignored the wry look Aubrey gave her in regards to the downpour still happening outside.

But because the world moved according to Chloe Beale’s will, as the bus traveled, the rain started to lighten and by the time they reached the town proper where the Barden Bellas were performing, they were greeted by clear skies and a bright, sunny area: the fresh and clean feeling of the air and the smell of wet grass all that remained of the rain that had threatened the event.

Aubrey, however, still looked disgruntled. “Oh, joy. So much mud.”

Chloe shot her a dark look, even as Stacie grabbed her girlfriend’s hand and pulled Aubrey away from Chloe and the rest of their friends.

“Can you try, for one second, to at least pretend you’re happy to be here to support Emily and the new Bellas?” Stacie pleaded.

Aubrey pouted. “I hate mud.”

Considering the woman had spent time running an outdoor retreat, Stacie both wondered how and admittedly couldn’t blame Aubrey for the assertion. She glanced around them, and deciding they were fairly isolated, sneaked in a quick kiss to Aubrey’s lips. “I’ll make it up to you.”

Aubrey merely grumbled her acquiescence, because they both knew she was fiercely loyal to the Barden Bellas, and Stacie had only needed to ask before Aubrey had agreed to come along and make the trip to Georgia to see Emily and the latest crop of Bellas make their first public appearance.

(Okay, Chloe’s long-winded and somewhat overly-concerned phone call had been a contributing factor, and Aubrey knew she and Beca were there partly to also prevent Chloe from falling back to old habits in regards to the Bellas.)

According to the program, the Bellas weren’t performing for another hour or so, and there weren’t exactly a shortage of things to do at the outdoor festival. However, the girls opted to sit at a picnic table in the designated area where the food carts were, trying to decide what to do first.

“Can we discuss why the Bellas are performing at a hot air balloon festival?” Aubrey queried, perturbed, as she looked off at the distance to where said balloons were being prepared.

“As opposed to mall store openings?” Chloe countered.

“Or the Puppy Bowl.” Beca muttered under her breath.

“Or car shows.” Fat Amy reminded.

Aubrey glanced at her questioningly. “Car shows?”

“Part of the victory tour that DSM stole.” Jessica explained.

Aubrey still looked confused, but ultimately decided she preferred her sanity. “I’m just saying, the sound system won’t do them favors and the acoustics are terrible.”

“Which brings up the important question of why the Worlds were held at an open field,” Stacie noted.

Beca frowned at her. “You need to break up with Aubrey if you’re gonna start talking like her.”

“I promise not to call you a Hobbit.” Stacie promised.

Beca sighed in resignation. “Fine.”

“Proper Hobbit names are okay?” Stacie teased, earning herself a rude gesture from Beca.

Chloe grabbed Lilly’s arm as the girl started to leave the table. “There are too many flammable things, Lilly. No. You’re staying here.”

Lilly sighed loudly, but stayed put.

“What do we know about the new Bellas?” Beca asked curiously. “The last time I talked to Emily she mostly just told me about the new songs she’s writing.”

“Mostly freshmen. But one girl’s a sophomore or junior, I don’t remember.” Jessica, who had remained in Georgia but very rarely got to visit her alma mater to check in on the Bellas, reported.

Chloe and Aubrey exchanged a look.

“What?” Beca asked, because she knew that look, and it never meant well.

“Nothing.” They both said quickly, trying to dissuade the line of questioning sure to follow.

They failed.

Stacie turned to Aubrey, since Beca already failed to break Chloe’s resolve, which meant it was up to her to break Aubrey’s. “What was that look just now?”

Aubrey squirmed. Maybe Chloe had a weakness for Beca for the four years they had been in college together, but her weakness towards Stacie had only grown over time and was very much a present matter.

Stacie took Aubrey’s hand and gently rubbed her thumb on the inside of Aubrey’s wrist. “Aubrey?”

Aubrey sighed in defeat. “Fine, but remember that I love you and this is a general observation and does not reflect on anyone specific.”

“That bad?” Beca asked.

Chloe shook her head. “Freshmen voices tend to be undisciplined. Unless they have years of training, or like Jessica, who’ve done a cappella before, breakdowns are just that much harder when you’re dealing with freshmen.”

Stacie frowned, confused, and looked questioningly at Aubrey. “Why were you worried I would—”

“You totally got in because Posen wanted in your pants.” Fat Amy laughed.

Aubrey sent her a withering look.

Chloe continued, as if she hadn’t been interrupted, “Even natural talent like Beca’s needed to be controlled.”

“Good thing Aubrey has the controlling part down.” Fat Amy cracked.

“That’s my girlfriend you’re talking about.” Stacie reprimanded, frowning at her friend. “And I really - _really_ \- like it when she takes control.”

There was a collective pause as the statement sank in, before they all shook their heads in dismay, and to clear their minds of the very concept Stacie had introduced.

For her part, Aubrey wondered if it was possible to have a full-body blush, because she really should have seen that coming.

“But maybe Emily got lucky?” Chloe suggested hopefully, easing right past the momentary distraction.

The girls all nodded their agreement.

Emily didn’t. And having focused more on the song selection and performance side of preparation, the group of former Barden Bellas realized belatedly that they hadn’t taught Emily as much as they could have when it came to breaking down songs.

It wasn’t a total disaster – the performance was harmonious and the Bellas performed as a collective whole – but it wasn’t going to win any a cappella championships.

There was a momentary silence after the set, before Aubrey, Chloe, Jessica, Lilly, Stacie and Fat Amy all exclaimed, “Not it!”


	21. Buttercup

"Gail and John want to talk to you." Aubrey told the Beca and Chloe as she joined the current group of Barden Bellas in the tent that acted as their green room, having sent off most of the Bella alumnae back to the hotel they had billeted for the World Championships after the winners had been announced.

Beca frowned. "Why?"

"I don't know, Beca, Gail only told me to tell you to stay in the tent and wait for them here." Aubrey replied, leaning against the edge of a nearby table and picking up one of the bottles of water there. "I can only presume they want to talk to you about reinstatement."

"Or about being the first American group to win Worlds!" Chloe exclaimed loudly, prompting their friends to cheer in response.

"Or," Aubrey acquiesced, although she was _pretty sure_ it was about the Barden Bellas' suspension being lifted and being allowed back to compete in the ICCAs. And deep down wondered how Emily Junk was going to handle preparing a whole new set of Bellas on her own next year, for what should be a triumphant return to the ICCAs _and_ returning to Worlds to defend their newly-earned title.

Thankfully, not her problem.

Unless…

"So I kind of promised Emily she and next year's Bellas can drop by The Lodge for teamwork skills." Stacie told Aubrey as she approached, stopping in front of Aubrey and wrapping her arms around the older girl's neck in a loose embrace before leaning in close. "That's okay, right?"

Aubrey lifted her gaze slowly, finally looking up and meeting Stacie's eyes, and gave her an exasperated look. "It's really not, but we both know I'm going to agree to it anyway. And, really? You went straight for the cleavage approach?"

"I _was_ going to offer to pay you back with sex, but I'm doing that anyway, so…" Stacie shrugged.

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Fine. But you're going with me."

"Mm, yes." Stacie grinned triumphantly, and gave Aubrey a quick kiss. "I'd love to come."

Beca glanced at Aubrey. "You've been together for years. How is the boob bribe still working?"

Aubrey shrugged helplessly. "They're awesome."

Chloe nodded in agreement. "They really are."

Beca frowned at Chloe, who shrugged in return. Beca rolled her eyes, turning back to Aubrey and Stacie, who had switched places at the table, now with Stacie leaning against the table, with her arms around Aubrey's waist in front of her, Aubrey's back pressed against Stacie's front. "If you're going to be that whipped, you might as well say 'as you wish' whenever she wants you to do something."

Aubrey, Chloe and Stacie all paused to frown at her.

Beca took in the curious looks, and explained, "The Princess Bride…? Chloe made me watch it. Come on, Aubrey, you like _live_ for the 80's, you know what I'm talking about."

Stacie leaned forward, resting her chin on Aubrey's shoulder and wondered aloud, "Is Beca suggesting role playing, because that's a kink I don't think I ever wanted to know she had."

"I'm more concerned on why she's suddenly making suggestions about our sex life," Aubrey noted.

"Or why she has an opinion or thinks about your sex life at all," Chloe added, giving Beca an odd look.

Beca scowled. "I hate you all."

The group chuckled at Beca's annoyance, drawing the attention of their fellow Bellas. Slowly, the other Bellas started to gather around Beca and Chloe, wondering why their captains weren't as loud with their celebration as they had been mere moments previous.

"What's going on?" Fat Amy asked curiously.

"Gail and John want to talk to us." Beca told them.

"You and Chloe." Aubrey piped in to correct her. Off the Bellas' looks, she defended, "Gail was specific. Beca and Chloe."

"Why are you on a first name basis with Gail Abernathy-whatever-her-last-name-is-now?" Stacie asked curiously.

"You're on a first name basis with Gail Abernathy McCadden-Feinberger?" Emily asked Aubrey, awed.

"You would be too, if you had to attend as many meetings with the National A Cappella Association as I had to." Aubrey replied.

Stacie looked at her. "2011?"

Aubrey nodded.

"Aww, I'm sorry, baby." Stacie said sympathetically.

"Wait." Chloe said suddenly, drawing everyone's attention and interrupting the kiss Stacie had been about to lay upon Aubrey's lips. She turned to Aubrey in concern and alarm. "What if they were kidding and can't actually reinstate us based on our victory at Worlds?"

"They can't do that." Beca was quick to reassure her. She glanced at Aubrey, suddenly worried. "They _can't_ do that, right? They said…"

"Unless they have to take it to a vote," Aubrey shrugged, opting for honesty. "But if the deal was contingent on winning Worlds, then they can't go back on that. Unless, you know, there's no contract."

The Bellas all glanced at each other, discomfited by that statement, since it had all been a verbal arrangement.

Aubrey looked at Beca and Chloe, a little annoyed. "There's no written agreement?"

"Maybe you should come with us," Beca suggested, sidestepping the accusation. "Since you know more about this stuff than the rest of us."

"Jessica knows the rules." Aubrey pointed out.

"Yeah, but she's _Jessica_." Beca glanced in the direction of Jessica and Ashley, taking a moment to regard them thoughtfully. She then shook her head, clearing her thoughts, and focused back on the issue at hand and turning back to Aubrey. "You—"

"Bellas! All still here." Gail Abernathy McCadden-Feinberger greeted, and took notice of the albeit somber mood in the tent. "Admittedly, not quite as celebratory as I would have expected…"

"Are we reinstated or not?" Emily asked eagerly.

"Way to keep cool, Legacy." Fat Amy told her in a stage-whisper.

Gail rolled her eyes. "Yes, the suspension is lifted, official documents will be ready and waiting to be filed when we get back Stateside."

"Oh." That was… anticlimactic. The Bellas all glanced at each other, suddenly unsure of what to do next.

"Why did you want to talk to me and Chloe?" Beca asked hesitantly.

"First American group to win World Championships?" Gail reminded. "Why _wouldn't_ we want to talk to you? Ladies, you're about to join me and John for our podcast."

"Right now?" Chloe asked.

"That's right." Gail glanced over Beca and Chloe and caught sight of Aubrey. "You too, Posen."

Aubrey frowned. "But—"

"No buts." Gail interrupted. "Right now, let's go." She gestured out the tent. When nobody moved, she snapped her fingers. "Blossom. Bubbles. Buttercup. Let's go."

As they rushed to follow the host and National A Cappella Association representative, Aubrey and Chloe pointed at each other. "You're Bubbles."

Beca frowned, following them. "Who?"

 

 


	22. Moon

It was the crunch of leaves that tipped her off that she was no longer alone, interrupting Aubrey’s contemplative study of how the night sky reflected on the calm waters of the lake near the Lodge, and Aubrey didn’t need to turn to know who stopped to sit beside her on the edge of the lake; the familiar warmth that she only got when she was around Stacie was telling.

They sat in silence for a while, a pleasant discovery and very recent development, as the last time they had been in the same room and within the same proximity to each other, Aubrey had been on the verge of graduating and had a tendency to put her foot in her mouth, and Stacie had been a freshman who liked to fill silences with gossip and random commentary. That they were able to sit together and not talk was oddly comfortable, and something Aubrey couldn’t help but wonder about.

But she was still Aubrey Posen, and she couldn’t help but scold, “You know you’re supposed to stick with your teammates.”

Keeping her gaze out on the moon’s reflection on the lake, Aubrey felt, more than saw, Stacie glance in her direction. “You’re saying we’re not on the same team?”

Sensing the innuendo inherent in the terminology, Aubrey couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corner of her lips, even as she kept her gaze away from Stacie. “Touché.”

Taking the smile as an invitation, Stacie moved closer until she and Aubrey were side to side, and Aubrey could feel the warmth of Stacie’s body beside her. Stacie frowned, and glanced at Aubrey. “You’re cold.”

“I’m just tired.”

“No, I mean,” Stacie didn’t finish her sentence, and instead shrugged off her light jacket and offered it to Aubrey, who hesitated briefly before taking in, finally turning to face Stacie to smile faintly. “Thanks.”

Stacie nodded as Aubrey put the jacket on.

Aubrey wondered if the warm tingling on her skin was her body temperature adjusting to the warmth of Stacie’s jacket or her body responding to the fact that the warmth of the jacket was directly attributed to Stacie Conrad, when Stacie spoke again.

“How long have you been running The Lodge?”

Aubrey glanced over her shoulder at the general direction of the main area of the outdoor retreat, and turned back to Stacie. “A little over a year, give or take a year and a half.”

Stacie furrowed her brow.

“I did the corporate thing for a little while, but in the end…” she let her voice trail off, and shook her head.

“No?” Stacie guessed.

“Yeah, so much no.” Aubrey agreed. “And one thing led to another, and I ended up here.”

“You like it?” Stacie asked.

“Mostly.” Aubrey said honestly, and laughed softly. “Most days. It’s tough, and exhausting, and sometimes the groups just tire your patience like when there’s a Hobbit who accuses you of not knowing what you’re doing, but—”

“Why are there bear traps?” Stacie interrupted curiously, suddenly remembering Beca’s run in with one earlier, and Fat Amy’s just an hour or two previous.

Aubrey paused, confused, and then slowly enunciated, “For the bears…?”

“So it’s not to teach rebellious campers a lesson?”

“It's… an unexpected advantage,” Aubrey allowed. She frowned. “What are you even doing out here, anyway? Aren’t you tired?”

“I…” Stacie looked away and took a deep breath, as if gathering courage; which Aubrey found curious and confusing - Stacie Conrad was usually a font of confidence, or projected it better than others when she was nervous. Aubrey couldn’t remember a single instance when Stacie had been nervous or lacked confidence on anything, even when the girl had been a freshman and on the receiving end of Aubrey’s grueling Bella training and lack of tact. Stacie turned back to Aubrey, and hesitantly offered, “I wanted to talk to you.”

Okay, Aubrey knew she really shouldn’t be so pleased by that admission. “How did you know where to find me?”

Stacie looked at her for one long moment, before she smirked. “I would always find you.”

Aubrey let out an indelicate snort at the cheesy rejoinder. “Don’t ever say that again.” She smiled at Stacie. “What did you want to talk about?”

Stacie bit her lip. “Why didn’t you ever call?”

“Call?” Aubrey echoed, confused.

“Yeah. You graduated, and you never called.”

Aubrey hesitated, because she had no idea what Stacie was aiming for. “I called Chloe.”

“There were eight other people in the Bellas when you graduated, Aubrey.” Stacie reminded.

“Eight people whose lives I made a living hell.” Aubrey returned. “In fact, you can even include Chloe to that list, but she’s just that forgiving and I get best friend privileges. Why are we talking about this?”

“I don’t want us to have another three years before we see each other again.” Stacie told her.

Now she was really confused. “I’m helping Beca and Chloe with your set for Worlds…?”

Stacie threw her hands up, and looked away towards the lake, which was apparently that much less frustrating than Aubrey.

“Yeah, this isn’t working,” Stacie declared, puzzling Aubrey further, because who was Stacie talking to, and what was she talking about–?

Stacie turned to Aubrey, and Aubrey’s breath caught at the almost ethereal way the way the moonlight played on Stacie’s features, how her green eyes seemed that much more expressive. Before she could gasp or say anything, however, Stacie muttered, “I’m going to kiss you now,” and when she received the almost-imperceptible nod, closed the gap between them and captured Aubrey’s mouth with her own. 

She’d forgotten, how good a first kiss could feel and taste like, and Aubrey had a feeling she would never get over the feeling of kissing Stacie.

Aubrey broke the kiss first. “Wait, wait.” She did not, however, protest when Stacie continued to peck her lips, and in fact responded in kind. Still: “Wait!”

Stacie couldn’t help the small whine that escaped her lips. “I’ve waited for three years!”

“Wait, what?’ Aubrey queried, startled.

“Three years, Aubrey!” Stacie exclaimed. “Do you have any idea how long that is?”

Obviously, because a year was a concept of time. But more to the point: “We need to talk about this.”

Stacie growled in annoyance, but she’d come prepared. “I’m staying in Georgia; I have a job offer lined up and they’re willing to let me study part-time, which means I can come by and visit you any time I want and you don’t have an excuse not to come and see me. I want us to go out on dates, because I know you want to do this properly and I want to take you out on dates and not just have sex with you on every surface available. I have money saved up, I’m over having casual sex with just anyone, and assuming I don’t suddenly fail all my final exams, I’m going to graduate with honors, so I’m not the same freshman peon who had zero chances of dating you, Aubrey Posen.” Stacie enumerated. “And we both know we’d be hot together, so I don’t know why we’re still not kissing again.”

Aubrey stared at her, the wall of words Stacie had just recited pretty much slamming into her. And while she definitely agreed with that last point, there was something pressing she needed to address, however: “You were never a peon.”

“Seriously?” Stacie exclaimed, because after all of that–?

Aubrey shook her head, and took hold of Stacie’s hand to allay Stacie’s protest. “I wasn’t in the position or head space to even _think_ of dating anyone that year, Stacie. And, yes, I should have tried harder to keep in touch with the Bellas and not just Chloe, but she’s my best friend and I barely knew most of you. Did I think you were hot? Of course, I have eyes. And we were just barely scratching the surface of becoming friends before I graduated. And, yes, the idea of dating you is very appealing, but are you even sure about this? It’s been three years, you don’t know me.”

“So let me find out.” Stacie insisted.

“And what if I disappoint you?” Aubrey challenged. “What if we break up? Do you really think we can just go back to being friends?”

“We’re not that close as friends anyway?” Stacie asked weakly.

Aubrey closed her eyes, because _goddamnit_. She shouldn’t, she knew she shouldn’t: Worlds was too important and Chloe had just barely managed to get herself together enough to stop panicking about it. And dating Stacie was likely to complicate the Barden Bellas’ dynamics more than necessary.

She sighed, and used her hold on Stacie’s hand to pull her closer, and, yes, she was already more than comfortably acquainted with the thrill of kissing Stacie Conrad.

Stacie sighed contentedly, smiling into their kiss. “I’ll take that as a yes?”

Chloe was probably going to kill her. Aubrey nodded, before kissing Stacie again. “Yes.”


	23. Pokémon Go

"What the fuck is a Dragonite and why is it important?"

Having just entered the apartment, Stacie paused, glancing around her to check if she was being filmed for some kind of prank show, and hesitantly turned back to face her girlfriend. "Hello to you too, Aubrey."

Aubrey gave her an exasperated look. "Yes. Hello. Dragonite?"

She loves this woman. She loves Aubrey. Stacie silently repeated it to herself like a mantra, because sometimes… "Wait, you don't know what a Dragonite is?"

"Am I supposed to?"

"I know you like really bad music from the early 90's, but exactly how old are you?"

"What is it?" Aubrey hissed.

"It's a Poké… _oh_." Stacie exhaled the last part, catching on to what was going on. Her smile conveyed her amusement. "It's a Pokémon. Where did you hear that word?"

"At the library." Aubrey grumbled. She let out the sigh of the long-suffering. "This is that Pokémon Go business, isn't it?"

Stacie chuckled, and after placing her bag on a chair, she kicked off her shoes as she sat down beside Aubrey on the couch. She leaned close to Aubrey, and was rewarded with a quick kiss. She smiled at the blonde. "And why the sudden need to know what a Dragonite is?"

Aubrey sighed in annoyance, her momentary distraction gone, as she was reminded of her reason for heading home after only an hour at the library. "People keep on coming and going because it's some kind of gym?"

Stacie immediately sat straight, alert. "Holy shit the law library is a gym?"

There was a pause, and then Aubrey lifted an eyebrow: "How old are _you_?"

"Baby, pay attention: you're sure it's a Dragonite?"

Aubrey threw up her hands in frustration. "I don't know. But I hate this thing already."

Used to her girlfriend's dramatics, Stacie continued, "And it's not a Dragon _air_ , or even a Dratini?"

"In English?"

Stacie ignored the question. "Is the gym yellow, or blue, or red?"

Aubrey groaned. "Stacie, I don't know."

Sufficiently brought back to the matter at hand, Stacie frowned in sympathy at Aubrey. "That bad?"

"I don't even know how this is allowed. And since people couldn't go in without someone with an ID, they've been bribing other students to let them inside to do whatever it is they do with this thing."

"It's inside the building?"

"Terrible, right?"

"Totally." Stacie nodded in agreement, although even Aubrey could tell Stacie was plotting her own approach to the Dragonite thing in the library exclusive to law students. But still, like a good girlfriend, Stacie glanced at the books on the table in front of the couch and grimaced in sympathy. "Case studies?"

Aubrey sighed. "Whole selection."

"I'll call you when dinner's ready."

"Thanks."

Aubrey's annoyance progressed, however, as days went on and group after group of people she had never seen in the building before crossed the threshold and spent their entire time in the library looking at their phones. After a while, though, the crowd lessened, as one by one, people who tried to capture the gym grew annoyed and frustrated by the ultimate challenge from the Dragonite, and Aubrey stopped complaining about the Pokémon Go users who dared to invade her library.

Unfortunately for Aubrey, however, her relative peace and quiet wouldn't last, as one day the flurry of outsiders started again.

"Someone beat the Dragonite." Aubrey seethed, dumping her books on the table, startling the napping Stacie, who looked up blearily at the blonde, who had crossed her arms across her chest to show her displeasure. "So now people are trying to get the gym again."

"Claim. The word you're looking for is claim."

"The word I'm looking for is trespassing lawsuit, but that's a phrase and, yes, I'm well aware I don't actually have a case." Aubrey stared off to the distance, her jaw set, and Stacie could imagine she was grinding her teeth; the vein on Aubrey's forehead that grew especially prominent when she was barely biting back her frustration was definitely making itself known.

Stacie yawned, and sighed. "It's not going to stop, you know."

Aubrey sighed in defeat, and sat down on the couch, carefully avoiding sitting on Stacie's legs. Stacie reached out, and gently placed her hand on Aubrey's arm, rubbing softly. Finally, she turned to look at Stacie. "How do I beat them?"

Stacie grinned widely.

Of course, that was easier said than done, considering Aubrey had almost zero experience with anything Pokémon-related ("How can you not know what a Charmander is?" "That show had a warning about triggering epileptic seizures!") and pretty much futile with anything related to technology. But Stacie was extraordinarily patient, and Aubrey was an extremely stubborn individual who did not take defeat lightly.

And since Aubrey was starting very late in the game, Stacie had to coerce Aubrey into taking a few short cuts, cutting corners where they could and convincing Aubrey to take part in a few game cheats.

At least they lived in a fairly urban area, and Stacie knew where all the good Pokémon were.

"Seriously? They're supposed to be _pocket monsters_?" Aubrey asked incredulously, going through Stacie's collection of Pokémon she had caught, and a little disgruntled that they seemed to be far more impressive than the ones she had.

"It's because you can carry the Poké Balls around, not because they're supposed to be small." Stacie explained, messing around with Aubrey's phone to check her stats and basically making sure Aubrey was handling the Pokémon in her collection properly.

Aubrey glanced at her. "And Raichu is better than Pikachu, why does everyone want a Pikachu?"

"Because Pikachu is the one who got to be on Super Smash Brothers." Stacie replied blandly. She shook her head. "Seriously, do I need to make you watch the show? I can't teach you stuff from years of playing the game, but it'll help you understand how it works."

"Pikachu is annoying." Aubrey complained, having been aware of the Pokémon phenomenon enough to know that much.

"And you can't learn everything from the Pokédex."

"I still can't believe someone made an app just indexing a bunch of creatures." Aubrey paused, and showed Stacie's phone to its owner. "I want this one."

Stacie looked at the phone, and then back up at Aubrey, impressed. "An Arcanine's pretty good. And if I could trade you, I would, but that's not part of the game yet."

"It's cute." Aubrey mused. She found another one she liked. "And this one?"

"An Electrode?"

"It looks threatening, right?"

"...It's an upside-down Poké Ball."

"But it's not a rodent."

Stacie frowned, grabbing her phone back. "Pikachu is not a rodent."

Aubrey looked at her, amused. "It's a mouse." She shrugged. "On second thought, at least Pikachu doesn't have a skull for a head."

Stacie gasped in offense. "Did you just insult Cubone?"

"I don't know what that is."

"Your ignorance is not an excuse," Stacie chided.

"And what's that thing with the Elizabethan collar?"

Stacie shook her head, refusing to be sucked in further than she already had, and handed Aubrey back her phone. "How's the library?"

"There's a Cloyster and a Gengar, and I'll spare you the trouble and say I've heard the joke about how they fit in the library for law students, thanks."

Stacie laughed.

One day, there's a noticeable commotion among the people trespassing, and Aubrey watches as group after group of people she had started to recognize and call the usual suspects would enter the library, play with their phones for a bit, and then leave not soon after. Aubrey has seen this behavior often the past few weeks, and she knew someone had claimed the law library gym anew. She's also learned that the turnover could happen eventually, and didn't bother checking what Pokémon was defending the place.

Except one day one of her friends muttered, "Who the hell puts a Vaporeon with a Vileplume?"

Someone who watched each one of the episodes of the anime, played all the different incarnations of Pokémon video games, _and_ actually attended tournaments for the card game.

Aubrey shook her head at Stacie. "How did you even…"

"How I battled with a dozen thugs, how I schooled them, and wiped the grin right off their mugs?" Stacie asked innocently.

"How did you get into the library?" Aubrey questioned.

"Um," Stacie gestured at herself, as if that was a sufficient answer. "I smile at someone and they're letting me in."

Aubrey knew she should be annoyed that Stacie used her womanly wiles and charm on other people, but Stacie had single-handedly decreased the number of outsiders trying to get into the library to claim it as a gym, so she was willing to let the indiscretion slide. She smiled in fond wonder at the brunette. "I love you, you know that?"

"Yeah, well, you know," Stacie shrugged, smiling. "My love for you is like a concave up function because it is always increasing."

Aubrey rolled her eyes.

"And I accept rewards in gifts and sexual favors."

"I don't love you that much." Aubrey retorted.

Stacie laughed, and stole a kiss. "Yeah, you do."

She really did.

"Or when trading is allowed, you can give me your Lapras." Stacie suggested.

Aubrey smirked knowingly at Stacie. "Trading Pokémon instead of sexual favors. My, how the mighty have fallen."

Stacie pouted. "I _will_ have that Lapras once trading is allowed."

Aubrey laughed, and pulled Stacie closer to kiss her. "Thank you for claiming the gym."

 

 

 

 


	24. Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it really a prompt if I asked Knappster to give me a story idea? 'Cause she did and it was: It's someone's party Aubrey was forced to go and Stacie's there with a friend so she doesn't know anyone. Loosely interpreted, of course.
> 
> Read. Enjoy.

"Hey, Chloe, it's… ten PM. I don't know where you are, but Alice just dragged some of us out of the house and I'm not sure if she's about to unleash her inner mob boss on us, so if and when you get this message, if I'm not back in twenty-four hours, I love you and please tell my parents I love them." Aubrey pursed her lips, trying to think of what else she could leave as a final message, but ultimately decided she had nothing else to say to her best friend. She ended the call, wishing Chloe hadn't been out on a date when Alice decided to take the few Barden Bellas hanging out at the Bella house that night out to a party she just "needed" to go to. Aubrey had only been at the house to get notes from the girls, but Alice figured she could drag Aubrey along as their designated driver. The party was at an off-campus fraternity house, and Aubrey usually liked being part of the Bellas' inner circle, but not if she was only there as the designated driver.

It didn't help that she knew Alice was only being civil to her because she was the clear successor to being the Barden Bellas' captain and manager, because Alice couldn't stand Chloe for reasons nobody could understand. And they had recently made it past the semifinals for the first time in Barden Bellas history, so while Aubrey could have opted out of coming along tonight, she was going to take advantage of the momentary reprieve from Alice's reign of terror while Alice was still riding the high of being the first Bella captain to bring them to the ICCA Finals.

But coming along to the party meant Aubrey had to stay sober, and that was a disappointment. She pouted at the can of soda in her hand, because she honestly would rather be home finishing her homework than staying at a party where she only knew the Bellas.

"Act like you're happy to see me."

Aubrey turned, startled, at the voice that had spoken, and found herself facing an extremely attractive dark-haired girl whose full, pouty lips were upturned in a mischievous smile. She wore a low-cut top and extremely tight pants, and— _damn it_. Aubrey snapped her eyes back up to meet the girl's, whose smile had turned into a knowing grin. She mustered an awkward smile. "Excuse me?"

"There's a guy – seven o'clock, don't look – and he's kind of been…"

"Do you want me to get rid of him?" Aubrey asked, briefly glancing in the direction the girl had indicated, but found more than one guy looking in their direction.

The girl smiled, quirking an eyebrow. "What's your plan?"

"I can talk to him and—"

"I have a better idea."

"Okay-?"

Okay, being kissed by a random hot girl at a random party had not been part of her original plans for the night, but Aubrey figured there were worse things. Aubrey closed her eyes, surrendering to the moment and kissing her back, letting her hands drift to the girl's waist to steady herself.  

The girl smiled into their kiss and gently eased off, slightly pulling back. She licked her lips, amused with the way Aubrey's gaze followed the movement. "Not a drinker?"

"Not tonight." Aubrey admitted.

"Designated driver?"

She confirmed the girl's guess. "Designated driver."

The girl nodded in understanding. She tilted her head to indicate behind her. "Is he still there?"

Aubrey glanced over, but the people there weren't paying attention to them at all. "I think he's gone."

"Cool." Aubrey found it a little amusing that the girl didn't even check for herself. "So," she continued, jutting one hip out as she adjusted her stance, and tilted her head to the side questioningly. "Do you go to Barden?"

Aubrey smiled. "Nice segue."

"I try." She acknowledged. "I'd apologize about just kissing you right now, but I'm not really sorry about it."

"Smooth." Aubrey noted.

The girl gave her a dazzling smile. "I don't hear you complaining."

"Because I'm not."

"Of course you wouldn't, it was hot." She smirked. "And you liked it."

Aubrey lifted an eyebrow. "Do you go around kissing people you don't know at parties?"

"I don't know anyone else at this party, and it's a frat party, and you looked like the safest bet."

"How did you know I'd play along?"

"You look like someone who'd help a girl in need." The girl replied.

"And the kiss?"

"Lucky guess."

Aubrey shook her head in bemusement, feeling completely enthralled by this girl without quite knowing why.

"What do you study in Barden?"

"Are you going to try and guess all my secrets?"

"I don't think the school you go to gets to be considered a secret." She noted. She held out her hand. "Stacie."

"Aubrey." Aubrey shook her hand.

"So? Barden?"

Aubrey nodded. "But it's just been a hell of a week for me, so if you don't mind us not talking about school, that'll be great."

"That bad?"

Aubrey winced.

Stacie giggled. "Sorry."

"No, it's…" Aubrey stopped herself, realizing that she was talking to someone who she was pretty sure wasn't a Barden University student, which meant she didn't know about the Barden Bellas, or the reputation that the Bellas or Aubrey had around campus. To this girl, she wasn't anything but another girl at a party. She exhaled. "It's been a long week."

She smiled at Aubrey. "So why aren't you partying harder?"

"Designated driver." Aubrey reminded.

"Right." Stacie nodded, acknowledging her lapse in memory. "Just to be clear, I don't go around kissing random strangers at parties."

"I'm not sure I believe you." Aubrey admitted.

Stacie looked at her for a long moment before she inclined her head, accepting the accusation. "Got me. But I kiss hot strangers."

"That makes me feel _much_ better."

"Awesome." Stacie smiled, and Aubrey had a feeling she was not alone in her inability to resist the other girl. "So, Aubrey, do _you_ go around kissing hot strangers at random parties?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "There's no answer to that that makes me look good."

"Hot and self-aware. Be still my heart." Stacie grinned, and gestured outside. "This house has a pool. Want to go outside?"

"I'd like to keep my clothes on, thank you."

Stacie gave her a droll look. "Oh, Aubrey, if I wanted you out of your clothes, you'd be naked already."

Aubrey shook her head, laughing softly. "You are…"

"Hot? Amazing?"

"Unbelievable." Aubrey concluded.

"You're not saying no." Stacie pointed out.

Aubrey wondered how much she would regret this later on, but she answered with, "So there's a pool?"

If she thought kissing a girl she didn't even know was a surreal experience, Aubrey had no idea what to say about the fact that she remained pinned under Stacie on a poolside chair, enjoying the way the other girl moved with and against her, how hotly her skin felt against her own, the way her kisses sent shivers down her spine and made her yearn for more. They had been talking for hours, occasionally interrupted by heated sessions like the one they were currently in, and Aubrey had decided she really liked this girl.

Stacie broke their kiss with a gasp, and picking up on their last thread of conversation, husked against Aubrey's lips, "You're on the Dean's List _and_ on partial scholarship. And you look like this? Do people hate you?"

"Probably." Aubrey admitted, carefully keeping her hands on top of Stacie's clothes, knowing that the moment she touched skin, she would be a goner. "But my best friend says I just need to balance out the nerd with more relevant stuff."

"Yeah?" Stacie traced Aubrey's collarbone with the tip of her finger. "Like what?"

"My go-to is always the E! network." Aubrey confessed.

"To keep up with the Kardashians?" Stacie guessed.

"To keep Ryan Seacrest in business, probably." Aubrey replied.

"Balance out Engineering with E!, got it." Stacie nodded.

"You're an Engineering student?" Aubrey asked, since school was the only subject they have been avoiding from discussing in any detail, following her earlier request.

"That's the plan." Stacie admitted.

"Undeclared?" Aubrey guessed.

"Sure." Stacie smiled, leaning in close and kissing her again. "Let's go with that."

"What—" Aubrey's question was interrupted by her phone's ringtone. She smiled sheepishly at Stacie as she retrieved it. She checked the screen, and was relieved when it wasn't Alice. "I have to take this."

"Okay." Stacie replied, even as she leaned down to trail kisses down Aubrey's neck.

Aubrey allowed herself a second to enjoy the sensation before she reluctantly answered the phone call. "This is Aubrey."

"Let's go. Alice is drunk and Hazel's getting the rest of the Bellas." Lisa, one of her fellow Bellas, told her in sharp tones.

"But--"

"Now, Aubrey!" With that, Lisa hung up.

Aubrey sighed, making Stacie pull back to gaze at her in concern. "You have to go?"

"Yeah, I—"

"Stace, we have to go!" Someone called from the house a few feet away.

Stacie smiled wryly at Aubrey. "I know the feeling."

"Listen, why don't—"

"Aubrey!" Someone yelled, making Aubrey jump and ease Stacie off of her to stand; and Stacie was honestly quite impressed with the way Aubrey quickly adjusted her clothes back to something more presentable.

Aubrey cast an apologetic smile upon Stacie as they both rushed towards the house. All Aubrey could see of the Bella who had called her name was a retreating back, but the girl who had called Stacie quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the house, disappearing into the crowd and leaving Aubrey behind.

Stacie blew Aubrey a kiss, mischievous and teasing, grinning like the cat who'd gotten the canary.

Aubrey sighed, but didn't have time to dwell on it, because her phone rang once more, and this time Alice was calling.

 

* * *

 

They had at least five people who had taken an interest in the Barden Bellas – Fat Amy being one, and a girl Aubrey recognized as a former member of the high school a cappella champions – but it wasn't enough, and Aubrey didn't know if she and Chloe would have enough members to build a solid Bella foundation upon, and she would be _damned_ if she had to resort to Sockapella antics to make up for their lack of voices.

"Act like you're happy to see me."

Aubrey's brow furrowed at the familiar words, and she turned around quickly to a vision. "You!"

"Me." The tall brunette confirmed. She pointed at herself. "Stacie."

"I know." Aubrey was smiling the first real smile she'd really felt since the disaster at the Lincoln Center months ago. "What are you doing here?"

"I go here. Now." Stacie hesitated, clearly trying to come to a decision about something, before she confessed, "I'm a freshman."

Aubrey tilted her head to the side, regarding the taller girl, and dryly observed, "you really _weren't_ an Engineering student."

Stacie smiled sheepishly. "I am now?"

Aubrey shook her head. "What were you doing at that party?"

"Campus tour, we sneaked out to check out what a real college party was like." Stacie admitted. She pointed at the fliers in Aubrey's hand. "Are you going to give me one of those?"

Aubrey obediently handed her one.

Stacie read the biggest print on the handbill. "The Barden Bellas." She glanced briefly at Aubrey, quirking an eyebrow and lifting the paper in her hand. "Judging from these uniforms you're not a girl gang named after the girl from _Twilight_."

"Funny. We're an all-female college a cappella group."

Stacie considered that, and shook her head slightly. "Not sure that's better."

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Do you sing?"

"Sure." Stacie folded the flier into the smallest possible square it could be, and as Aubrey watched, tucked it under the top of her blouse and into her bra. She smiled knowingly when Aubrey seemed to realize what she was looking at and where, and snapped out of it, looking back up at Stacie. She leaned closer to Aubrey and licked her lips slowly, enjoying the slight hitch in the blonde's breath, before she smiled and stepped away. "I'll see you around, Aubrey."

Aubrey had liked the subtle seduction of the girl she'd met the previous year and made out with for hours by the pool, but the girl in front of her now was even more of a predator, and she swallowed thickly.

Stacie glanced back over her shoulder to make sure Aubrey was still watching, and when their eyes met, winked at the blonde.

She smiled to herself when she could practically hear Aubrey whimper as she walked away.


	25. Thesis

Stacie sat up abruptly when the door to the private study room in the library opened – she hadn't been sleeping, no way, not even a little nap, and that certainly wasn't drool she hastily wiped off her face – and she turned to glare at the door. What she saw there gave her pause, and – and she wholly blamed her sleep-induced madness for this – momentarily failed to comprehend the sight before her.

And then:

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes, and pulled up a chair to sit closer to Stacie. "Visiting. But you weren't at the house."

Stacie blinked at her, before she preened and said coyly, "You're here to see me?"

"The Bellas, technically, and probably specifically Chloe, but-- ow." Aubrey pouted when Stacie lightly punched her in the arm. She smiled at the other girl, leaning in for a kiss, until she noticed the mess of papers on the table in front of Stacie and pulled back abruptly. "What's this?"

Stacie frowned, annoyed that she didn't get her kiss, before she glanced briefly at the papers Aubrey was looking at. And groaned. "Documentary requirements."

Aubrey let out a low hum of confusion.

"Thesis." Stacie said simply as means of explanation. "Summary and draft are due tomorrow."

"Ah," Aubrey nodded. She didn't really understand a lot about Stacie's course and major, but she knew that as an Engineering student, Stacie's thesis requirements differed greatly from what her own had been, and she wasn't about to ask for details she probably wouldn't understand, anyway.

"Why else would I be in the library?" Stacie asked, confused.

"Beca might have implied you're hiding from Chloe." Aubrey explained.

Stacie paused, considering, and nodded to concede that point. Despite the Barden Bellas now having a direction in terms of their set for the Worlds, there were still moments when Chloe freaked out about it. Well, Worlds, and the possibility of her finally graduating. "Have you seen Chloe?"

"Are you kidding, I'm not getting involved in that any more than I already have."

Stacie frowned at her. "She listens to you."

"And I only have a few hours before I have to head back to The Lodge," Aubrey reminded. "It's either talking her down or hanging out with you, but," she cast a brief glance at the papers strewn on the table, "it looks like you're busy, so—"

"Don't even." Stacie told her, grabbing Aubrey's wrist and pulling her back onto her chair, forcing the chair closer to her. "You're staying here."

"But your thesis—"

"Won't get done in a day, a few hours won't matter." Stacie declared.

Aubrey smiled, until she realized – "Wait, you said you have to turn in a draft tomorrow."

Stacie bit her lip, "I was hoping you didn't hear that."

"Well, I did."

"But you're only here for a few hours," Stacie complained. "I've barely seen you since Christmas and we didn't really get to hang out when we were at The Lodge." She held up a hand, stopping Aubrey's retort, "And don't start with the teamwork spiel, I've heard it, and I still maintain I didn't have to sleep in the tent with the girls when I could have been sleeping with you."

"You're not letting me live that down, are you?"

"Do you know how long it's been since I've last had sex?" Stacie whined.

Aubrey narrowed her eyes at her. "Not for nothing, but hopefully it's around the same time since the last time _I've_ had sex…"

Stacie faltered slightly in her indignation, because, yes, that was true, and that meant she didn't have a righteous leg to stand on. She shook her head. "That's not the point."

Aubrey lifted an eyebrow.

"We don't even have to stay at the house, one of my classmates has a dorm room she doesn't use since she moved in with her boyfriend but won't tell her parents, so—"

Aubrey smiled wryly. "Why even bother with a dorm room? Why not here, on this table, and—"

"Really?" She probably shouldn't be so intrigued by the suggestion, but she was.

"No."

Stacie pouted. "I just, I miss you. And not just the sex. But instead you're making me skip out on my Aubrey Time because of homework."  

Aubrey shook her head, "I miss you too. But I'm pretty sure your graduation thesis is a little more than just _homework_ …"

"You say that, and I'd agree, but I mean," Stacie indicated one of her drafts, "what do I care about pipes and plumbing and turbines and how things get going when other things get heated with just the right amount of friction and—" Stacie stopped abruptly, and slammed the open book in front of her shut. "And now I'm thinking about sex, so there's no way this is going to get done now."

Aubrey watched her in mild amusement, because while she had instantly been attracted to the confident, overtly-sexual and unabashedly flirtatious freshman that Stacie had once been, it was this nerdy, sometimes-awkward, unwittingly innuendo-filled older version that she had fallen in love with, and why she was willing to face Chloe's wrath if and when Chloe found out Aubrey had taken time off from her duties at The Lodge to pay a visit to the Barden University campus and had gone to see Stacie instead of her best friend.

"Are you sure you can't spend the night?" Stacie cajoled, releasing her grip on Aubrey's wrist to slowly run her fingertips up Aubrey's arm to her shoulder, enjoying the way Aubrey's skin visibly reacted to her touch, and the way the blonde's breath hitched. "Because I don't know about you, but I could use a little after-hours—"

The blare of Aubrey's cellphone was annoying in a lot of ways – especially given how she was in a library – but Stacie took particular exception. "What the hell."

"Sorry." Aubrey pulled out her phone, checked the caller of the incoming call, and made a face before she answered it. "This is Aubrey."

Stacie kept her displeased expression for the duration of the phone call, gradually allowing it to slide into a more severe displeasure once the conversation made it evident that it was from someone at The Lodge, huffing in annoyance when Aubrey shot her a look and turned away.

Slightly disgruntled, Stacie turned back to her notes and tried to focus back on her school work.

She actually had a version of her thesis already with her advisor, but she was constantly working on it and wanting to add more things, and so far the feedback she's received has been positive, so it was a constant work in progress.

So while she would like to turn in another, more detailed, slightly improved version of her paper the next day, she didn't really have to; it was just a convenient reason (excuse) to get out of the Bella house and have a little time to herself – without eight other girls (and Legacy) hanging around – and away from the constant pressure of preparing for Worlds.

Aubrey ended the call, glanced over at her obviously-disgruntled girlfriend, and smiled at the sight. Yes, Aubrey was the more petulant and oft-pouting half of their relationship, but Stacie had her moments, too, and despite herself Aubrey found a pouting Stacie Conrad endlessly endearing.

Realizing Aubrey's call was over, Stacie hazarded a glance over at the blonde, and found her looking at her with the softest of expressions. Stacie found herself blushing, despite not knowing why Aubrey was looking at her so fondly. "What?"

Aubrey leaned forward, and kissed Stacie quickly, letting her lips linger on Stacie's for a beat longer before she pulled back. She grinned, and Stacie grinned back, drawing out a pleased but slightly-confused: "Okay...?"

Aubrey lifted her phone. "They'll survive for another couple of hours more than I thought."

Stacie quirked an eyebrow, but her grin only grew. "Meaning--?"

Aubrey smiled. "You were talking about a room…?"

 

 

 

 


	26. Feather

"Hey," Chloe greeted, entering the room she shared with Stacie and breezing past her roommate directly towards their shared closet. "I'm running late for my date tonight, so if the girls start yelling that Todd's here, can you tell him to wait?"

"Sure."

Chloe paused, hearing the dejected tone in her friend's voice, and poked her head out from the walk-in closet to regard the other girl. She took note of the well-worn shirt, the shorts, and Stacie's long hair tied in a loose bun on top of her head and the pencil holding it in place, and she hazarded, "No date tonight?"

"Nah." Stacie shook her head, pasting on a smile that Chloe felt was entirely for her benefit. "I'm a casual sex girl. I don't do all that romance and stuff. And Valentine's Day puts too much pressure on people on the romantic concept."

Chloe narrowed her eyes at Stacie, because while she didn't doubt that Stacie enjoyed casual sex as much as she said she did, she had also learned from the time she's come to know Stacie Conrad that there was also a part that enjoyed romantic comedies and actually _did_ like the "romance and stuff".

And Chloe also knew that even if Stacie didn't believe in romance and stuff, Stacie would still have a date, if even only for the free meal, but she wouldn't say no to at least some of the trappings involved in celebrating Valentine's Day.

Chloe hesitated, vacillating between hurrying to dress up for her plans that evening, and talking to her friend about what had her in a funk, when Beca knocked on their open door, and peered inside.

"Hey, Jesse said the Trebles were going to have a party tonight to celebrate Single Awareness Day," Beca informed them. "You guys wanna go?"

Both Chloe and Stacie took a beat to process the information, but it was Stacie who pointed out the problem in Beca's statement. "But you're dating Jesse."

Beca's expression was blank. "Yeah…?"

Chloe tried next. "You're a couple."

Beca still looked confused, which was why Chloe followed up her point.

"You and Jesse aren't single."

"Yeah I guess," Beca concurred, "But we weren't going to go out and do the whole dinner-flowers-candies-and-candlelight thing. That's not exactly us."

Again, both Chloe and Stacie looked doubtful, as Jesse had made no secret of his affinity for movies, and dinner/flowers/candy/candlelight were all staples from movies.

Regardless, Chloe shook her head. "I already have plans."

"Oh?" Beca asked curiously, her posture straightening as she readied herself to ask more questions.

But Chloe side-stepped that conversation with the distracting: "But Stacie's moping."

"I'm not moping."

"She's a little moping," Chloe insisted, ignoring the pout Stacie directed her way.

Beca's response was interrupted by Ashley, who appeared behind Beca at the doorway and announcing, "Chloe, some Todd guy's here for you?"

Chloe's eyes widened, her expression revealing her conflict on whether she should stay to talk to Stacie or carry through with her established plans.

"Go on your date." Stacie told her. "I'm fine."

"You don't look fine." Ashley observed, earning her a glare from Stacie. She paused, considering the context of her words, and speculated: "You don't have a date?"

Jessica peered in from behind Ashley, and asked, "Why doesn't Stacie have a date?"

Stacie threw her hands up, her mounting frustration towards her friends evident. "I don't do Valentine's Day!"

"But: free candy?" Jessica asked, confused. She and Chloe pointed at each other in agreement, before Chloe made her way back to the task of getting ready.

"And isn't February 14 like an open invitation to sex?" Beca asked. "Doesn't that make it like an official holiday for you or something?"

Honestly, if these people weren't her friends…

"Why is everyone here?" Fat Amy asked, joining the growing number of Bellas at the door to the room.

"Stacie doesn't have a date tonight." Beca reported.

"She doesn't like Valentine's Day." Jessica added.

"But, free candy?" Fat Amy asked, confused.

Stacie rolled her eyes.

"And don't you have that friend you've been benefiting from regularly?" Fat Amy continued.

The shock wasn't so much from the friends with benefits arrangement Stacie had, but that she flinched when Fat Amy mentioned it.

It was so obvious even the usually-clueless Beca noticed. "What's wrong?" She asked, as Chloe returned her attention to the conversation, having changed her clothes.

"Nothing."

"Tell that to your face," Beca remarked.

"It's nothing." Stacie insisted, glaring. When nobody moved, or seemed to care about the glaring, she sighed. "They have a date tonight."

"They're dating someone?" Jessica asked curiously. Stacie had made it clear that despite her lack of limits when it came to her choice of sexual partners, she drew the line with people in relationships.

"I don't think so," Stacie admitted. She sighed in muted frustration. "I don't know." She frowned. "Because they've never said anything. And one moment, it's just sex, and then we're hanging out, and it's confusing. And now they're out on a date?"

"I'm sorry, Stacie." Chloe said softly, glancing over from where she was putting on her makeup. "It sucks being strung along and played with like that."

"Wait," Ashley blurted out, gaining the attention of the gathered group of friends.

"Do you _like_ this guy?" Flo asked, who, alongside Lilly, had joined the Bellas at the door.

Stacie's lack of a response was telling.

Beca let out a low whistle. "Dude. Whoa."

"It's not like I planned this," Stacie snapped.

Beca raised her hands in surrender. "I didn't say anything like that."

"What _are_ you saying?" Stacie asked.

"You say you like them and you've been sleeping together so you know he's into instant gratification; but you're not seducing this guy to keep them from going out on their date tonight?" Beca observed.

"Dude." Ashley mused, sotto voce.

"Whoa." Jessica concurred.

"Chloe! Todd says you have a schedule!" Denise yelled out from the ground floor.

Chloe winced, gathering her purse and phone. She approached Stacie, and kissed the top of her head. "This guy doesn't know what he's missing if he doesn't realize how great a relationship with you would be."

"Thanks."

"And listen: Just let me go to this thing, and I'll tell Aubrey to let me come right back and I'll bring ice cream, okay?"

It was quick and viciously tight, the way Stacie grabbed her arm as she started to move away.

"You're going out with Aubrey?" Fat Amy asked, surprised.

"Yeah," Chloe nodded. "Didn't I tell you?"

"Your date on Valentine's Day is _Aubrey_?" Beca clarified, her tone bordering on hostile.

"Then who the hell is Todd?" Jessica asked, confused.

"Todd's our friend who's going to get us into this invitation-only exhibit opening tonight." Chloe explained.

"And Aubrey invited _you_?" Stacie asked, a little indignantly, a tone which confused Chloe and pretty much everyone else in the room.

Chloe shrugged. "She really wanted to bring someone else, but she said she's worried it's gonna put some pressure for them to be together on Valentine's Day, since they're not really in an official relationship, or something." She held up her hands in a gesture of helplessness. "Best friend card. Anyway, it's free food and a room full of artist types, so maybe I'll get lucky."

 

* * *

 

Aubrey looked up from her phone when Todd opened the door to driver's seat of the car. "I thought you said we had to be there by seven?"

"The doors open at seven," Jenna, Todd's girlfriend and date for the evening, admitted.

Todd rolled his eyes. "We told you seven so Chloe would be on time."

"And where's—" Aubrey's next question was cut short when the door to the other side of the backseat of the car opened, and Stacie got into the car.

"Change of plans." Stacie said simply. It was a good thing Chloe had already been sorting through their more formal wardrobe selection, as Stacie had found one of her favorite little black dresses almost immediately and after a quick touch up – Chloe had insisted a more natural look would be enough to convince Aubrey that Stacie hadn't joined the trip to the gallery and museum for the reason Chloe had last mentioned – and Chloe hadn't had any qualms about letting Stacie take her place as Aubrey's date to the exhibit.

The Bellas had all skipped to the part where Aubrey and Stacie would work out their misunderstanding, they had missed the part where Aubrey had asked Chloe to go with her for reason.

Aubrey glanced at Todd.

"Don't look at me; Chloe just said the Trebles are having a party, and you're the only person who can get Stacie out of her funk."

Aubrey turned to Stacie in concern. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Stacie assured her. And unlike all the previous times when she'd insisted the same that evening, she actually meant it this time. "I'm fine."

Aubrey lifted an eyebrow to make sure, to which Stacie gave her a reassuring nod. Tentatively, she reached out and took Aubrey's hand, smiling when Aubrey threaded her fingers with Stacie's.

But that small gesture of intimacy didn't mean she didn't have questions.

Once they were at the museum and art gallery and safely away from Todd and Jenna, Aubrey found a relatively isolate alcove away from the main gallery floor and picked up her line of inquiry. "Why would Chloe say you were in a funk?"

"Because I was." Stacie glanced around, and turned back to the program in her hand. "Why is this show called Light as a Feather?"

"I don't know, I'm just here for the free food." Aubrey admitted. "Why were you upset?"

Stacie looked at her with a serious expression. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to go out with Chloe?"

"You kind of stormed out before I could."

Stacie scoffed. "I did not--"

"Well, you _left_ , and have been ignoring my calls." Aubrey pointedly reminded. She paused, and asked: "That's why you were upset? Because I was going to go out with Chloe?"

"Because I thought you were going out on a date."

Aubrey frowned. "I told you I had plans."

"And I interpreted that as a date."

"Why?"

"Because it's Valentine's Day?" Stacie reminded.

"And?"

"And people as hot as we are have dates on Valentine's Day!" Stacie exclaimed.

"You don't have one."

"Because I thought you did!"

"I'm confused." Aubrey admitted, cutting through the exchange when she realized she had nowhere to go.

Stacie shook her head. "It doesn't matter now."

"Because I'm not on a date?"

Stacie shook her head again. "Because we are." She paused, considered how that sounded, and added, "On a date."

Aubrey tilted her head slightly to the side, gazing thoughtfully at her, and mused, "I thought you didn't like the pressure of Valentine's Day as a romantic concept."

"I don't." Stacie admitted, ducking her head slightly. "But I like _you_."

Aubrey smiled, and pulled Stacie to her, brushing their lips together. She had meant it to be a quick peck of Stacie's lips, but Stacie had other ideas. After what felt like forever and not nearly long enough, Stacie whispered against Aubrey's lips, "Let's get out of here."

Aubrey let out a soft whine of reluctance, because as much as she thrilled at the idea Stacie was suggesting, there was also the matter of: "But they haven't brought out the quiche yet."

Stacie paused, frowned, and pulled back to look at Aubrey. "You're really here for the free food?"

"The caterer is one of the best in the area," Aubrey explained. "They did the dedication ceremony for the new wing of the Econ building a few months ago, their quiche was fantastic."

Stacie rolled her eyes. "Fine. We'll stay for the quiche."

"Dessert's supposed to be a baked Alaska."

"What's---"

"Flambé'd ice cream cake."

Stacie paused, because few four-word sentences had ever sounded so good. "And then we can leave?"

"Yes."

Stacie pursed her lips. "Can we keep making out?"

Aubrey grinned. "Yes."

 

 

 

 


End file.
